Years Later
by noble-obsessions
Summary: "Nothing's going on between Sam and I!" It replayed through Sam's head over & over again in high school. 3 years later, Quinn and Sam meet again, and now, it was Quinn's turn to remember that nothing's going on between her Sam. Set post-Rumours ep
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Not mine. If it was, Fabrevans, Puckleberry and Brittana would be end game and I'd be tweeting behind-the-scene Achele stories with you. Oh and I know nothing about New York streets so I just made some up.**

* * *

><p>Rachel finishes her Fleetwood Mac song and almost everyone starts clapping.<p>

"Don't you think it's maybe a little inappropriate that you chose to sing a love song to my guy?" Quinn said annoyingly in the soft voice, emphasizing the last part. She knows Rachel's still hopelessly in love with Finn but right now, she doesn't need her to steal him from her because they're running for Prom King and Queen.

"You're such a hypocrite you little miss perfect prom queen! You're a cheater who cheats in cheap motels with Sam!" Rachel blurts out. She raises her eyebrow at the diva, shocked that she's even exclaimed at her with that tone.

"Nothing is going on between Sam and I!" Quinn retaliates, emphasizing that Fabrevans was over.

"Enough, guys!" Mr. Schuester says, trying to come in between. Diffusing tension between the two girls was as hard as him trying to get his ex-wife lay off of him.

However, Santana being Santana, sticks up for her best friend and interjects in the argument, "Y'know, I blame Sam for all of this. And Rachel too I blame her," she simply says like it was the simplest thing in the world.

"What did I do?" The diva annoyingly replied.

"I'm sure you did something," the Latina spats back in a brush off manner.

"Yeah, I'm with Santana. I mean why isn't Sam saying anything about it?" Zizes butts in.

Puck sticks up for her ladylove and shares his thoughts, "Guilt. Seriously, dude. What you're doing is not cool. They both have boyfriends!" Kurt flinches but remains silent, after all, there's nothing but Blaine for him.

He finally had enough. People ganging up on him and accusing him of things he didn't do was too much for him to handle. "Shut up! Look I'm not messing around with Quinn or Kurt or anyone of those guys. They're just helping me."

"Oh is that what we're calling it now?" Mercedes snarkily says, joining the heat as well.

A curious Mr. Schuester then asks the blonde boy the most awaited question. "Wait hold on. How are they helping you out?" It was silent for a moment until Sam answers his teacher.

"Kurt was bringing me some clothes and Quinn was helping me babysit my little brother and sister." Everyone's mouths hang agape at the revelation. Quinn and Kurt shake their heads at the immaturity that their fellow Glee members are showing for Sam right now.

Stupid Finn interjects again, "Then why were you in that motel?"

And Sam loses it, "Because that's where I live now. My dad lost his job a few months ago then we lost our house, so now we live in a motel in one room. Are you all happy? The truth's finally out." He walks out of the room; silently thankful that Glee practice is the last one he had to attend. He goes by his locker and takes his things and then walks out the school towards the bus stop.

* * *

><p>"Nice going guys," Quinn says sarcastically to the bunch who still can't seem to wrap their heads around the new information they got from Sam. "Kurt and I were in no position to tell you all what he's going through and you just had to force it out of him. I thought you were all better than that." With that, she storms off just like Sam did and tries to look for his ex-boyfriend.<p>

"Yeah, I'm honestly disappointed with you guys right now. There's always a fine line between rumours and reality and you just lost it today," Kurt adds, leaving the group to go home.

Quinn heads straight to her car when she didn't see Sam. She knows he has no ride home but the bus, which isn't going to arrive until approximately after their Glee practice. Because of what happened in the choir room, it's obvious practice was cancelled and she had a good idea Sam had no ride to the motel. She starts her car and drives home, passing by the bus stop. From afar, he sees a blonde guy in a red jacket with a backpack hung on one arm walking way from the bus stop. She speeds up a little and honks at him.

"Sam," she says, lowering down the passenger side windows as she slowed down to Sam's pace. "Get in. Let me give you a ride home."

"It's okay," he replies, looking at the ground and continuing to walk. "It's not that far a walk."

"Yes it is. It's like 5 miles away," Quinn insists. She unlocks the doors of the car. "Sam, please."

Sam contemplates for a while and decided to hitch with Quinn, his siblings would be waiting for him double time if he isn't home early. It was a silent ride on the way to the motel.

"I'm sorry," Quinn starts, trying to break the tension after a few minutes of silence. "In their behalf, I'm sorry."

"You've nothing to apologize for," Sam replies quietly. "You were just being honest. And you don't have to apologize for them."

"But they were being extremely rude to you," Quinn replies at his former lover. "We may not be together anymore but I still care about you a lot."

_Nothing's going on between Sam and I!_

The sentence never left Sam's mind. He flinches for a second and just nods as closes his eyes, praying, hoping that his feelings would just go away. About 15 minutes later, they arrive at the motel. It was a Friday and she's pretty sure she's babysitting for Stevie and Stacy. Sam gets out of the car, "Thanks Quinn." The blonde girl smiles at him as she gathers some of her stuff and starts to open the door.

"I think I can babysit on my own tonight," Sam interrupts her. "It's okay. You should go home. Thanks for the ride." He flashes her a forced smile and starts heading towards their room.

"Sam, wait," Quinn says loudly enough for Sam to look back. "I can help you tonight. I've nothing else to do."

"Quinn, we can't-"

Quinn stops him before he could go on, "Look, I'm doing it for free. I never asked you to pay me."

"But still-"

"Sam, this is my choice," she kind of pleads but kind of commands as well. Sam shrugs, giving in to Quinn. After all, he could use the help.

He reminded himself what Quinn said earlier, "_Nothing's going on between Sam and I!"_

"Okay," Sam says. "Lock your car." Quinn does as she's told as Sam waits for her and they get in the room together.

Sam's kid sister and brother, Stacy and Stevie got along really well with Quinn. They like her so much they've bugged about Sam dating her to which Sam has replied numerous times that he can't (anymore) because she has a boyfriend. This left the munchkins sad. They also liked it when Quinn dropped by on Sundays with home made cookies after church.

It's like time literally went by and the former lovers were now tucking in the little blondes. Quinn kisses their foreheads and her and Sam starts towards the door.

"Thanks for helping me," Sam says sincerely as he opens the door for her.

"It's okay," Quinn says, her small bag hung on her shoulder. "Are you okay? You really didn't talk to me the entire night."

He shrugged. "I'm okay," he says. "You know it'll die down."

"I'm sorry," Quinn repeats, touching Sam's arm in the process.

_Nothing's going on between Sam and I!_

_Nothing's going on between Sam and I!_

_Nothing's going on between Sam and I!_

He closes his eyes for a second, willing for that thought to go away for just a while until Quinn leaves. "You were just being honest," Sam assures her, regaining his composure. "You're not at fault this time. There really is nothing going on between us," he trails.

"I'm so, so, so sorry," Quinn repeats for the nth time, flinching at the fact that Sam repeated saying that she was being honest. "I really am. For everything."

Sam shrugs. He really hasn't forgiven Quinn entirely but that doesn't me he has stopped loving her. "We can't help what we do, right?" Quinn nods as she bites the inside of her cheek. "You probably should go. It's getting late." Sam walks Quinn towards her car and watches her leave.

_Nothing's going on between Sam and I!_

His head was being against him right now and he just wanted to hit himself over and over again.

* * *

><p>His phone beeps, signaling a message. He opens it to find that it was from Quinn. "I'm home : ) Thanks for dinner. Goodnight."<p>

He contemplates not texting back but he thinks it's rude not to, especially someone who babysat with him for free. He sends a simple goodnight back and goes to bed.

_Nothing's going on between you and Quinn. Nothing anymore._

* * *

><p>After Nationals happened, everyone went on their own until summer vacation. They had some group parties here and there but it's mostly the Unholy Trinity hanging out, the boys did some beaches and that was that. Quinn was very disappointed to have accidentally seen Sam and Mercedes walk hand-in-hand in to the coffee shop as she went to the nearby bookstore. She distanced her self from the boy. She didn't know why it still hurt when they broke up months ago. She thought she's over Sam but looking at Sam and Mercedes just made her blood boil. She walked the opposite side; careful to avoid the new couple in hiding so she doesn't rudely spat on them. She knows Sam deserves someone who's honest and she can see that in Mercedes. It just really hurt.<p>

One Saturday afternoon, Quinn was lying by Santana's poolside, fiddling with the ring on her hand as the 2 girls with her laid with her. She never stopped thinking about Sam since his walk out. She's pretty sure she still has feelings for the boy and now that Finn broke up with her, she's sure she was just shocked that Finn had the nerve to dump her. Quinn realized after that that her just missed Finn but her heart isn't in it anymore. She's regretted the fact that she cheated on Sam and every night since Sam broke up with her, she kept thinking and thinking why she did it. She punished herself by always looking at Sam and now that he's with Mercedes, it hurt her twice as much because she never thought Sam could replace her. No one could deny that they, as Ken and Barbie, were perfect for each other and she screwed that up.

"Could you please stop thinking about Trouty Mouth?" Santana annoyingly says, not even bothering to look, from behind her sunglasses. "If you want him back, go for it."

"What? I'm not thinking of him," she spat out at Santana, denying her accusation.

The Latina just rolled her eyes at her best friend, "I'm Lebanese, not stupid."

"But that didn't stop you from taking him," Quinn exclaimed back, raising an eyebrow at the Latina.

"I thought we talked about this already," Santana replies. "I apologized for it. I'm with Britt now and nothing's stopping you."

"I thought you were going to fight for Sam when Santana took him from you," Brittany shares, pulling her sunglasses up and looking at the two. "I mean, you know, I would've with Santana but I was with Artie then." Santana blushed at this and neither girl noticed it.

"Come on, he's with Mercedes now," Quinn reasons out, sitting up to take a sip from her lemonade glass. "He deserves someone who won't cheat on him."

"Girl, if you say that shit one more time, Imma personally cut you," Santana replies snarkily. "Sam's obviously still in love with you, you moron."

"Santana's right, Quinn," Brittany supports. "I've seen the way he's looked at you. Well, not now because I haven't seen him ever since he and Mercedes officially dated but you know what I mean. I'm dumb, not stupid."

"It's just not gonna happen anymore," the blonde in topic replies. "I've clearly pointed out that nothing's going on between us when the club went all TMZ on him."

"Still worth the shot, Tubbers," Santana replied, receiving an annoyed glance from Quinn.

* * *

><p>It wasn't long before they were filling out their college forms. Pretty much everyone had an unspoken agreement to have Ohio State University as his or her safe colleges. Quinn was deciding on interior design, english or culinary arts as her program at NYU, Sarah Lawrence or Culinary Institute of America. Sam was thinking of going to Parson's, Pratt or the Art Institute of New York with either a graphic design or film studies track. Santana was filling out applications for Rutgers and Carnegie Mellon for a journalism or entertainment industry management program. Surprisingly, Brittany applied for fashion and advertising arts at Parson's and FIT New York. Finn and Puck had some football offers that isn't exactly secure from Drexel and CSU with Finn deciding upon business administration or geography (because he doesn't know anything he's good at but maps) and Puck with music or economics. Kurt, Rachel and Mercedes all applied for Tisch at NYU, AMDA, Baltimore School of the Arts and Juilliard for music. Artie, being the smartest of them all, decided to try his Ivy League luck at Princeton, Carnegie Mellon and USC for either an architecture track or a mathematics track. Tina and Mike both applied for Rutgers but Tina also applied for NYU, thinking about taking interior design or psychology and computer science or pre-law respectively. It's been such a blur and all of them were working extra hard for college. They know it has to be taken seriously.<p>

Time went by fast. They've finally won the Nationals, beating out Vocal Adrenaline because non of their two previous power voices were there. They were finally a celebrity in the eyes of some McKinley High students but the slushies never fully stopped. Everyone had their fair share except the Unholy Trinity, Puck and Zizes. Right now, they're wearing red robes in the field, waiting for their graduation ceremony to end. Quinn, Artie, and Tina were all wearing yellow sashes upon their shoulders, signifying an honors position but Artie graduated with the valedictory honor.

"Let's give our hands to our class Salutatorians, a first in William McKinley high," Principal Figgins said to the mic. The two girls stood up for their cue. "Lucy Quinn Fabray and Tina Cohen-Chang." Everyone cheered and applauded as the two walked up the stage to claim their diplomas and then Artie was called for his diploma and his speech.

After the graduation, everyone went to Puck's after-grad party. Pretty much the entire senior class of McKinley was there. The glee club was by the poolside hanging out together, sharing stories and decisions over college. In the end, they all found out where they were going. Quinn has decided for a culinary track as her love for cooking has remained stronger than her love for literature; Sam went for a graphics design program at Parson's seeing as he can't afford film school at the moment, a surprised Santana accepted Carnegie Mellon's journalism offer, Brittany, much to Santana's dismay, chose FIT New York for a fashion program, Tina and Mike planned their lives out in Rutgers respectively taking a psychology and pre-law track, Finn took Drexel's football offer and a business study program, Puck went to decide for the west coast's California State University with an economics studies in mind and a football scholarship in his pocket, while Artie decided on Princeton for his architecture program. Kurt, Rachel and Mercedes were surprisingly split up in all three schools, AMDA, Juilliard and Tisch respectively. However, Rachel, being Rachel got accepted to Tisch and Baltimore as well so she's still trying to decide where to head at.

* * *

><p>It's been 3 years since they last saw each other completely. After that summer vacation, everyone moved out to their respective schools, promising to stay in touch every now and then. Not all of them have fulfilled their part loyally but it was understood that college was hell. Santana, Brittany, and surprisingly Tina, kept in touch with Quinn, either of the 3 calling her every other day. Puck and Mike kept in touch Sam seeing as it's only him they find cool enough to contact. Not even Finn.<p>

It was a stormy night when Quinn's car broke down in front of a row of apartments. Her luck ran out when her phone's battery died. She saw from her peripheral vision that someone was looking out to her from their apartment windows, wondering why a car was stuck in front of the place. She ignored it and just decided to let the storm pass and call someone in the morning. She was about to squeeze herself to the backseat when she heard a knock on the window. Some guy held an umbrella and a flashlight and Quinn thought it was some maniac and ignored him, double-checking the lock on her doors in the process.

"Do you need help?" Came the sound from the outside. It was a friendly voice. The guy shone the light on the backseat windows and Quinn waved her hand frantically to shoo him away and to cover her eyes. She couldn't see the guy because he was practically blinding her with the flashlight. The guy crouched a bit, squinting his eyes to get a better look until he spoke loud enough for her to hear, "Quinn?"

* * *

><p>"Here," Sam said, handing Quinn a blanket as Quinn took a sip from her hot chocolate. "I could call a mechanic tomorrow to fix your car."<p>

"Thank you," Quinn mumbled. The storm just went harder and thunder struck every now and then. It was unusual for New York to have this terrifying kind of weather. "I'm sorry I shooed you away earlier."

Sam smiled, standing up to turn the heater up. "It's alright. I would've done the same thing. It's a good thing I recognized you and your blond hair." He chuckled and they both shared a smile.

"Thanks again," Quinn said, setting down the mug and wrapping herself up in the blanket. "I never knew exactly where you lived. I just know we're both in New York and all." After the summer, they never really talked much as he was too busy with Mercedes and Quinn was too busy trying to get over him. They all knew where each other went but neither gave each other's exact location.

"It's fine," he grinned. "Wait a sec." Sam stood up and headed upstairs and Quinn looked around Sam's loft. It was a two-storey apartment that had one bedroom and a bath. The walls were crimson red and off-white carpets covered the floor. There were several small spotlights at the corner and a big lamp beside the staircase. There was a black leather couch in front of a TV set and a glass table in the middle. Under the staircase was a cupboard where Sam's gym stuff and stocks were kept and near that were the kitchen and the dining table. It was pretty obvious that Sam lived alone. It felt so homey to Quinn. There was a series of cabinets installed above the small range, a dishwasher and sink, a fridge big enough for one person to survive living alone and a 4-seater dining table across it. Upstairs is where Sam's bedroom is and a bath. She smiled at how clean the place was. Sam may be a guy but he knows how to keep his loft clean. She admired how different Sam was from other guys.

"Quinn," she heard Sam speak and she was bolted out of her trance. "Do you want o head to bed? It's pretty late." It was about 30 minutes past 11 in the evening but the weather made them feel like it's later. "You can go upstairs in my bed. I just changed the sheets. I could sleep in the couch."

Quinn shook her head, "No, no. It's okay. I'll take the couch. It's your apartment. You shouldn't be sleeping in a couch!" He chuckled at her and shook his head.

"Come on, Quinn. I still know you. I know how much leather couches make you feel," he replied. Quinn repressed a smile, her heart fluttering at the fact that Sam still remembers some small details about her even when they were together just for a while. When Sam didn't get an immediate respond, he said, "Tell you what. Why don't we watch some TV until we get tired? You know, so you don't get bored and stuff."

Quinn nodded in agreement. Sam went to open the TV and flicked the channels, pausing for a bit every once in a while to see if Quinn was interested. The girl's thought seemed astray but he didn't mind. It was a bit awkward for him to accommodate the first girl (and the only girl) who broke his heart. He built the courage to break the ice, "So what were you doing in my area?"

"Oh, well. Um, I just got off from my duty," she replied, Sam nodded, wordlessly telling her to continue. "I'm an intern for that fine dining restaurant by 9th. We closed up a bit late because some Broadway people were having a meeting. Then, I stopped by the laundry place to pick up my stuff."

"Cool," Sam replied. "How's culinary school doing for you?"

"It's really good," Quinn smiled as she brushed a hair off her face. "My mentors say I have potential so I wouldn't be interning where I am now without them. And you?"

"Still a graphics student," Sam shared, gesturing to some magazines that were arranged on the small shelf by the TV. "Took an advertising track as well. I'm also a part-time graphics freelancer for this new advertising firm. It's pretty cool I get to work from home so I don't have to pay traveling back and forth."

"Good for you. You have a really good place here, Sam," Quinn added, indicating his apartment, which made Sam smile. "My place is kinda smaller what with the fact that I have a roommate."

"This was actually my mom's second cousin's old apartment. They know the owner so we got a pretty good discount. The ones they offer at school was far too expensive," Sam replied.

"At least you have a discount," Quinn answered, shrugging her shoulders. "I'm barely making ends meet and I'm pretty lucky they let us do work at school to get some tuition discounts but I still have loans to pay afterwards. I'm actually looking for another part-time job just so I can have some extra cash. I'm just doing some barista stuff at Coffee Bean for like 25 hours a week."

"That's nice. I'll let you know if I see one," Sam offered and Quinn smiled. "I'm trying to make ends meet as well for the loans and rental and food." Sam knew that Quinn knew the financial state of their family. Ever since his dad lost his job, he was lucky enough to get in to Parson's with a quarter of tuition's discount. His dad found something stable that promised to help Sam with a quarter more of his tuition if he accepts a job offer from the company after he graduates. He had no other choice but to say yes. Fortunately, his family started getting back on track. They weren't as well off as they did before but it was loads better now.

"Why don't you apply for a scholarship?" Quinn suggested, her eyes flicking on to the news that was currently on. They were forecasting a 3-day storm that would not stop and advised people to go home as soon as possible.

"I've slashed half of it off through my dad's office and my application back then," Sam started to say, watching the news as well. "I'm just waiting for the end of the month to be eligible for a scholarship presentation so I could get in free until I graduate."

Quinn asked, "What's a scholarship presentation?"

"It's like a thesis but I've got to showcase my best works in various fields of design," Sam explained, his hands gesturing. "I have to show about 15 designs, they ask questions why I did the thing like that, I've got to answer them perfectly. They decide whether or not I'm worthy and then they let me know if I'm eligible for free schooling."

"Wow, that's really awesome, Sam," Quinn replied, genuinely happy for the guy. "You'd be great. I know once you put your mind into things, you really go for it." Just as she stopped talking, Sam's phone went off.

"Hold on a sec," he told Quinn, taking the phone out form his pocket and Quinn just let him go and took the remote. Sam stood up and headed to the kitchen for privacy. It felt like as if nothing happened. They were talking like she hasn't ignored the guy for nearly 3 years. She feels like she's fallen into a comfortable friendship with Sam right away but she wasn't sure if she should ask about it.

"Hey, babe," she heard Sam say in to the phone. Surprisingly, her heart jolted. It feels like some icy knife was suddenly slashed into her throat. A couple of minutes later, she was watching some One Tree Hill reruns when Sam reentered the living room.

"Sorry about that," Quinn shrugged as if saying it's fine.

"So, how are you and Mercedes? I haven't heard from you all in a while," Quinn said after some silence.

"Mercedes?" He said incredulously. "We broke up like after the first term of college, Quinn." Quinn looked shocked at the revelation. She thought anyone would've shared that information with her but then again, why would they? She and Sam had no business with each other anymore.

"I should've told you," Sam muttered, sensing the shock on Quinn's face.

"What? It's fine. You didn't really need to tell me that," Quinn replied quietly.

_Nothing's going on between you and Sam. Nothing anymore._

A few more minutes later, Sam yawned and Quinn noticed. His eyes became watery and he stood up and took his laptop from his small workstation. "Do you want to go online?" He offered. Quinn was pretty sure she had to check her emails and Facebook for any announcement on her class. Her phone died and she has no way of contacting any of her friends.

"Yeah, can I?" she replied. "I've got to check my school mail and let my roommate know where I am. She might freak out." Sam nodded and opened his laptop. Quinn found out later on that all of her classes the next day were suspended as her school was warned about the nonstop storm. Sam did the same but he still had classes, which was really ridiculous.

He shut his laptop, "Well, I've classes tomorrow. You can stay here until the storm dies down, or at least until it calms down."

"You're school is inconsiderate," she remarked and they both laughed. "It's freaking storming. They expect you to still go?"

"Probably something about rain inspiration and crap," Sam suggested. "Don't worry, I can keep you company until before lunch. My classes don't start until 1. Maybe I could try some of your amazing cooking skills." He grinned.

Quinn shook her head, smiling at the boy in front of her. It's been years but he never fails to send butterflies in her stomach. She never admitted it to herself that she was over Sam, she thought time will let her heal but instead, she saw Sam again. She expected constant awkwardness, trying to go back to the way they were before things fell out of place but Sam was amazing enough to not make things awkward. He sure knows how to break the ice really well even after 3 years of no communication. "Sure. It's the least I can do after you've been so hospitable to me."

* * *

><p>Sam woke up to the sound of someone cooking. He insisted he take the couch until Quinn gave in. He rubbed his eyes and stood up, taking the blanket off of him. "Good morning, Sam." She said as she saw him awake.<p>

"Good morning to you too," Sam greeted back. "Smells good. Knew I could count on you." They shared a smile and Sam headed upstairs to the bathroom to clean up. It was around 8 in the morning and it was still bed weather. He went downstairs afterwards to Quinn setting the food up. He has his phone tuck in his shoulders and left ear as he took his jacket off the rack.

"Okay, I'll be there," he muttered and hung up. "Quinn," he said. "I'll just pick up Cali at the corner store. I told her we should have breakfast together, is that okay? Is there enough food or do I need to grab something?"

Quinn was shocked. She thought she and Sam were gonna share some breakfast together but that was just wishful thinking. She shouldn't even be thinking of things like that because she and Sam were over and it's been 3 years and she should just let go of him. "It's fine. Although, you should do some grocery shopping already. I cleaned up your fridge." She smiled and the boy nodded and headed out with an umbrella in hand. Quinn started on making some French toast she learned and it was not the regular French toast. There were some tomato omelette, some honeyed bacon, strawberry waffles and some brewed coffee (which she kept a stack of her favorite brand in her car.)

A few minutes later, the door opened revealing Sam and Cali. Cali had long brunette and had a physique like Santana except she was American-Italian. She had well defined eyes that really looked a bit Natalie Portman's. She wore a pair of leather boots, jeans a big fluffy sky blue jacket and a loose fitting shirt inside. She took off her jacket and hung it as Sam did. They approached Quinn who was reading a magazine at the table.

"Hey Quinn," Sam said and Quinn smiled at the two. "This is Cali, my girlfriend." Her smile almost faltered from the mention of Sam's girlfriend. She was such an amazing actress. "Cali, this is Quinn. We went to high school together."

"Hey," Cali said, holding out her hand. "Sam says you make awesome breakfast because you're a culinary student. I think that's awesome."

Quinn shook her hand, "Hey, thanks." She smiled. It's quite impossible not to like this Cali girl. She emitted some kind of positive vibe, not kind of like Rachel-optimistic but just all-around, general optimism. They sat down and began to eat. Sam and Cali both commented how Quinn made such simple breakfast taste better. Even Cali had to admit she can cook but she can't make things simple to taste so perfect. Quinn had to smile at that one and genuinely, she was thankful that she got different feedbacks.

"So how did you know Sam?" Cali asked. Quinn thought she was pretty confident and not the jealous type. If she were in Cali's place, she would've freaked out knowing that her boyfriend's ex stayed the night and made breakfast for them.

"Oh well, like he said, we went to the same high school," Quinn shared, eyeing Sam who seemed to just eat his toasts like there's no tomorrow. "We were in Glee club together too and we hung out a lot when-" she felt someone bump her shin. She eyed Sam, sensing that Sam hadn't exactly been honest with Cali as to who she was. "When we were in the club. We were always paired for dance numbers because we're both blondes and the club thought we looked like Barbie and Ken." Cali laughed. She shared about how Sam told her he was in Glee in high school and all that. They finished eating and Sam cleaned up the dishes and promised to call a mechanic afterwards for Quinn's car while Cali fixed Sam's beddings on the couch and Quinn charged her phone so she could contact people. In all truth, Quinn can't help but like Cali. She was sweet, not the jealous type, pretty, thoughtful (she cleaned up Sam's face after the boy dripped some syrup on his chin) and all around nice. It was really hard not to like her. Cali was thoroughly and honestly informed of what happened last night so she wasn't surprised. What Cali didn't know was that Quinn was Sam's first love. _Oh boy._

* * *

><p><strong>AN: I'm starting this off slow just so you get the ideas of what happened to both of them. I felt it was necessary so readers know where each and everyone are and how they are. Like I said, Glee ain't mine. If it was, Fabrevans would've never broken up, Puck would've kicked Finn's ass and dated Rachel, and Karofsky would've been outed by Brittana together.**


	2. Chapter 2

It's been 2 weeks ever since he saw Quinn, accommodated Quinn and acted fine around Quinn. It took him by surprise when he saw her stuck outside his apartment that stormy night. It honestly took all of him to just ask Quinn if she has a boyfriend at the moment. The guy was thankful his girlfriend did that questioning for him and Quinn said no. He wasn't the type of guy who felt the need to make someone jealous especially when he's taken. It just wasn't in his upbringing and he thought it was pathetic. Sure he's over Quinn, but he is his first love. Heck, he gave her a promise ring. It's never going to go away with him and his feelings for Quinn that will always be there and he has never denied that. He now has Cali, an independent girl who knows what she wants but she still manages to be extremely sweet to him. Sam was lucky meeting Cali during a party he went to. He and Quinn exchanged some text messages here and there, Quinn telling him about a cake she deflated and Sam telling Quinn about some customer who wanted impossible things. It was a couple of short exchanges, just wanting to see how the other was doing.

His phone went off and he got up from his work desk to answer it.

"Cali? I thought you still had classes?" He answered his girlfriend. It was 4 in the afternoon and Sam's classes ended roughly 3 hours ago. He was doing some graphic jobs for the advertising firm.

"Yeah, we were let off early," Cali replied from the other line. "I wanted to see if you can grab some coffee with me? If you're not busy working?"

"Why not?" He answered, grinning. "Where do you want to meet up?"

"Summer told me about this really cool bookstore-vintagey coffee shop thingy on 4th," she replied sweetly. Another thing he loved about Cali was her unique love for vintage stuff and books. She wasn't the typical college student who enjoyed parties and things like that. She'd rather spend her time reading, designing and writing. Kind of a nerd but she's not the kind of nerd who would get on anyone's nerd. She was cool and Sam liked that.

"Alright." Sam hung up and got ready. Soon, he was walking on his way to 4th. He wasn't able to catch the bus so he informed his girlfriend who was already there.

Beep beep!

Sam turned around, sensing that the honk was for him. He saw Quinn in her red mini cooper. The blonde girl slowed down to Sam's pace and rolled down her window. "Where you going? Can I give you a ride? " She said, flashing her signature sweet, perfect pearly smile.

"It's fine, Quinn," Sam answered, smiling back. "Thanks anyway."

"Come on, Sam," Quinn pressed. "I'm headed to the 4th. If you're anywhere near there, let me give you a lift. It's the least I can do."

Sam gave in, informing Quinn he was headed there too. Minutes later, he got off the car and Quinn went to find a parking space. Sam met up with Cali who was sitting by the window.

"Hey," he said, pecking Cali on the lips. "Quinn saw me and gave me a ride. Stupid bus left me." Cali chuckled and handed him his coffee.

"It's fine," Cali said. "What do you think?" She said, gesturing at the place.

He looked around. There were some bookshelves on one side filled with second-hand books, some vintage items. Opposite that was the coffee area, complete with couches and chairs and tables and behind that was the counter. "I think it's lovely. It's so you." He said and Cali smiled.

"I'll go see if I can get some books," Cali said, standing up and leaving Sam her purse.

"Books that happen to swallow you whole and ignore me for the time being?" He remarked, sending a grin towards his girlfriend.

"Yes," she said cheekily. Sam shook his head and then the door chimed open.

"Sam!" He heard a familiar voice call him. Sure enough, there was Quinn.

"Hey," he smiled at her. "Are you following me?" He joked.

Quinn raised an eyebrow at him, "Excuse me, Sam. I happen to work here," she said.

"Oh," Sam said in disbelief. "Cool. Cali actually called me to get here so here I am." Quinn's smile almost faltered at the mention of his girlfriend's name but she's the better actress.

Cali appeared suddenly and saw Quinn talking to Sam. "Hey Quinn!" Quinn exchanged greetings until her manager called her in to take over the counter.

"Well, I gotta go make ends meet," Quinn said, walking away from the couple. She ignored the quick pounding of her heart. She knows she shouldn't be feeling like she needs Sam so she thinks it's just the sudden reaction to seeing him again. "Let me know if you need anything."

Cali sat back down, a couple of books in her arms. "She's so sweet. I wonder why she doesn't have a boyfriend." Sam looked away, taking one of the books from Cali and pretending to read the back page.

* * *

><p>She saw the couple regularly at the bookstore-coffee shop. Apparently, Cali loved books and the smell of old things. Sam usually met her there after his classes. He'd sit down on the couch by the window after kissing Cali and then he'd let her wander off to the bookshelves while he did some of his school work. The way he took care of Cali made her realize again how stupid she was for cheating on him. He still showed his sensitive side, respected her wishes and was always the gentleman, girlfriend or not. She was envious of how Cali talked about him openly because she'd always wanted to do that. She'd always wanted to flaunt Sam to everyone. It sent tears down her eyes whenever she goes back to the day that she emphasized that nothing was going on between her and Sam when in reality, she still hasn't moved on from when Sam broke up with her. It literally sent her heart pounding every time Sam texted her, asking her how she was, ever since that stormy night. It was impossible for her to just let go, especially now that she's been extremely jealous of Cali. It's like a part of her is missing but she's entirely helpless over the situation.<p>

Santana called her that night.

"What's up Q?" Santana said. "You haven't been calling me for a while. Something up?"

She so badly want to tell Santana that he saw Sam again and that she might or is still in love with the guy. "I um, nothing. Just busy. You know, interning, coffee shop, bookstore. Trying to make my ends meet since Lyric's moving out."

"Ly's moving out?" Santana questioned. Lyric was Quinn's roommate from the beginning of her college years. Santana liked the girl enough because she held her ground and doesn't need guys to protect her. If she wasn't taken, Santana would've made a move on her when she saw her one time when she visited Quinn.

"Yup, with her boyfriend," Quinn confirmed, hopeful that Santana won't stray back to topic. "I'm also really busy trying to find a smaller place I can afford."

"I see," the Latina said, she was always careful around Quinn because even though they've left their worst personalities in high school, everyone knows that Quinn is still the head bitch in charge, Cheerio or not, high school or in life. "Well, enough with the niceties and bullshit, Q. What is really up? And don't tell me nothing because I've known you longer than any of us so don't pull any crap on me because I'm not falling for it."

_Shit, _Quinn thought. Santana always saw, or in this case, heard past her. She was glad Santana changed topics but then backtracked. There's no way she could get out of this one without the Latina driving up to New York, knocking on her door at 2am and talking some sense in to her. Just like when Quinn was breaking down one time about Beth, it was like some motherly instinct or something and Santana drove all the way to comfort her.

"Q?" Santana said after not receiving any reply from the blonde. "Okay, something's definitely up. Spill, blondie."

She took a deep breath and said, "I saw Sam."

"You what?" Santana said rhetorically. "Sam? As in Trouty Mouth Sam? Our Sam Evans? The Justin Bieber Experience Sam? Sam the guy you haven't moved on from? The guy who doesn't like green-" She said so fast.

"Yes, S, that Sam," Quinn interrupted before Santana could think of a dozen more identifying factors of Sam. "And what? I've moved on from Sam ages ago, bitch."

"Uh-huh. Keep telling yourself that, Q, because right now, it's too obvious. You didn't even want to talk about it until I called or shit," Santana spat back in her bitch tone. "What happened? And I want the full details. And damn, Q, please tell me you're back together?"

_I wish I could say that too,_ Quinn thought. "No, S. My car broke down near 9th and I had no idea it broke down in front of his apartment. It was during that crazy storm, he asked if I needed help and recognized me. Took me in for the night and so I made breakfast for him in the morning."

"Oh hell yeah, Quinn!" Santana cheered. "Tell me you put out for the guy? Tell me!"

"Um no, she has a girlfriend," Quinn mumbled. "I made breakfast for the 3 of us."

"Oh sweet mother of Christ. He's living with his 'Cedes?" Santana asked. Apparently, she also didn't know Mercedes and Sam broke up so Quinn cleared that up for her.

"Her name's Cali," Quinn told the Latina. "She's absolutely sweet and really super nice and I don't think I can actually do anything about Sam or whatever this is. I respect him and his relationship, I'm not about to screw that up."

"Sure you can," the other girl replied, that familiar tone in her voice. "You be thankful I'm your best friend, Quinnie."

"Oh my- San! Don't do anything stupid!" Quinn screeched. "They're perfectly happy and I don't need to dig through the past. It's called a past for a reason. Besides, I'm not even sure if these are just bottled feelings from back then that's just releasing now just because I saw him."

"Oh, too late," Santana cockily replied. "This girl from Lima Heights Adjacent has got it all worked out. You're lucky I love you, Q. I wouldn't do this for anybody else." And with that, she hung up on the blonde. Quinn sighed frustratingly. Knowing Santana, she could pull some strings and make a mess in Sam's life. She feared how Sam would react if he found out but she can't help feeling grateful to Santana at the moment. She knows it's wrong but it's Sam. Sam who's always held her heart.

* * *

><p>Sam dropped of a resume for a diner before heading out to Cali's place. He called her because they 'needed to talk,' as he said over the phone. He rang the doorbell to her apartment and she responded immediately over the intercom. He made his way upstairs and opened the door to a sullen brunette curled up in the couch.<p>

"Hey, what's wrong?" He asked, hanging his jacket behind the door. He walked towards his girlfriend and wrapped an arm around her, hugging her. "Cali? Did I do something wrong? " The girl mumbled but he didn't understand a word.

"I can't understand you," Sam said patiently, running a hand through his blonde hair. A couple of moments later, she still hasn't spoken. "California Vivienne Thomas, what is wrong?"

"You're here to break up with me, right?" Cali said through choked back tears.

"What?" Sam said, a bit of disbelief but also a bit of weight off his shoulders was flowing through his voice. "Why'd you think that?"

"When someone tells his girlfriend that they 'need to talk,' that could only mean it, Sam," Cali responded. "I know we haven't been going out that long but I know a break up when I see it."

"No, I came here to tell you something though," Sam said, tightening his hug on the brunette's couch. Cali motioned for him to continue. "I haven't been completely honest with you." She looked at him, slightly pushing him to put distance between them. "With Quinn."

"What?" Cali asked in disbelief. "Are you fucking kidding me, Sam?"

"What? No! Not like that, Cali. I'm not cheating on you with her. It's quite the opposite actually. In some way. Just let me explain," he said, asking Cali permission. "She was my ex-girlfriend in high school. We broke up because she cheated on me. I thought I should let you know that. I'm sorry I didn't tell you earlier. I just didn't think it'd be alright to tell you that, 'hey babe, my ex's car broke down in front of my place so I let her in my apartment and stay the night and made us breakfast.' I can't do that to you. I was waiting for the right time." He hugged her and kissed her forehead.

Cali was processing things in her head. Quinn, the girl who made her and Sam breakfast, the girl who gave him a ride to the coffee shop, the girl who stayed over his place is the same the girl who broke Sam's heart before Cali picked him up from the mess he was. She thought it was Mercedes but Sam wasn't hung over Mercedes. It ended well between them unlike Sam and Quinn's. It was beyond different.

"Should I be worried?" Cali asked a while later after picking up her composure, snuggling closer to Sam.

"Of Quinn?" He confirmed and Cali nodded. He gulped. _Should Cali be? It's been years. He couldn't possibly be doubting his feelings right now. He shouldn't even be thinking about his answer. _"Um… no." He muttered.

Cali nodded and smiled, "I love you, Sam." She kissed him, but Sam never replied to her and just kissed her harder. It's been about 9 months that they've been dating but if Sam was right, he's never told her those words ever. Not even Mercedes. He only ever said it to Quinn.

* * *

><p><em>Hey, caller! I can't pick up the phone right now. I'm bringing justice to the world.<em> Mike's voicemail responded to Sam. He chuckled at how Mike managed to change his voicemail message nearly every month and it always had something to do with either law or dancing.

"Hey man, give me a call. Need to tell you something important," Sam said. "And no, we don't need Puck in on this." He added before hanging up.

About an hour later, Mike called back. "I'm looking for James Earl Jones." Mike kidded.

Sam changed his voice, "What's up Mike?"

"You tell me. You called me earlier."

"Yeah, you won't believe what's been happening to me the past few weeks," he waited for Mike's reply but he didn't so Sam took that as a cue to continue talking. "I saw Quinn."

"No way!" Mike exclaimed. Sam then re-told the story about that stormy night. "So are you going to ask her out?" Mike piped in.

"What? I've a girlfriend, remember?" Sam informed the Asian dancer.

"Oh yeah. Cali. But don't lie to me man," Mike said. "You don't love Cali like that. You told me before you never even said those 3 words to her."

"That's the thing. I'm so confused right now. It's quite pathetic actually. I thought I'm over Quinn but I don't know. Maybe it's just old feelings returning for the meanwhile because I just saw her again?" He said to Mike. He wanted assurance that Cali was right for him.

"I don't know, Sam. It's always you and Quinn. I've never pictured you with anyone else. Not even Mercedes. I'm sorry I can't help you out a lot on this but," Mike said, pausing for a bit. "But Tina and Quinn still talks every now and then. Maybe she just hasn't gotten around to telling Tina about you yet but if they do, I'll dig something for you. Just go find out if it's really Cali over Quinn before doing something drastic, okay?"

"Alright. Thanks man. Appreciate it," Sam said. "But... how come you never told me Quinn and Tina stayed in contact?"

"I thought you guys we're really done until you called today," Mike answered. "If I'd known about this, whatever this is bro, you would've known sooner."

* * *

><p>Santana was able to get Sam's number from Brittany (whom she gave the Quinn-Sam meet up rundown with) who was in contact with Tina who is Mike's girlfriend who had Sam's number.<p>

"Hello?" He answered as his phone rang on his walk back home.

"Sammy, Sammy, Sammy," Said a sly Santana from the other line.

"Santana?" He confirmed. _He hasn't heard from her in years. How did she get his number? Quinn?_

"One and only," Santana said like some announcer. "So listen, I'm being straight here-" Sam chuckled. Santana wasn't straight but that was odd coming from her. "Shut up. I know I'm gay but just shut your lady lips and let me do the talking, okay?" Sam bit his lip, remembering the day that the Latina went full on teasing him about his lips, Artie's non-working legs and Tina's supposed eye de-slanting.

"So Quinn told me about you and her meeting again. I just want one question answered," Santana continued.

"What?"

"Do you still love her?"

The question caught him off-guard. _Why was Santana asking him about that? Did Quinn tell her something?_ He wasn't able to answer immediately so Santana interrupted his thoughts.

"I knew it, lady lips," Santana smirked from the other line. "Tell me, do you have a girlfriend?" Santana knew the answer to this one but she figured Sam didn't need to know that Quinn and her talked about him.

"Why are you asking me so much questions, Santana?" Sam said. _Bingo. He didn't deny my accusation,_ Santana thought as a smile formed on her face.

"Just answer the question," Santana replied in a bored tone.

"You know, I can hang up on you, right?" Sam challenged.

"Oh yeah? And what would happen to Sam's gentlemanly ways when Quinn finds out you hung up on her best friend?" Santana challenged back.

"Quinn knows you're calling me?" He exclaimed.

"What? No. This is only between you and I, dork. She has no idea about this. I got your number from Britt who got it from Tina who got it from Mike. I just wanted to see how things were with you," Santana charmingly said that Sam almost fell for it. He knew Santana was up to something but he can't put a finger on it. "So, do you have a girlfriend?" Sam confirmed with a yes. "Do you love her?"

"Look, Santana. I really need to go. I have work to do," Sam said, dodging the question. "It was kinda nice but not really talking to you. Bye." He hung up on her, not even bothering to think about what Quinn would think if he hung up on Santana. _Why would I even think about how Quinn would react? I have Cali. Cali's my girlfriend. I should be thinking about her. Why can't I just let the past go? She's cheated on me for fuck's sake. Just FML._

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Read and review! Anyways, I'm completely devastated about Chord's non-regular status and the possibility of him being completely kicked off the show. I swear. I almost cried. I ranted to my friends. I ranted on Twitter and Tumblr. It seriously broke me. I need Fabrevans to be end game. Damn you RIB. You all said no one's leaving. You liars. Once the original cast graduates, I assure you, most of the loyal fans of the original cast will graduate from you as well. **_**Oh and please tweet #DontCutTheChord and/or buy Chord's Billionaire cover on iTunes (USA) and/or sign the Twitter petition on him being a regular.**_** I want to wake up tomorrow to find out that Chord's actually staying on Glee as a regular and I know the decision to be a guest on Glee is his but come on, guys! Please. TV gods, please. I'm willing to sit through Samcedes just make him stay. Or you know, take Finn. Leave Sam alone. He needs the music. And Quinn. He needs Quinn and Quinn needs him.**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: If I owned Glee, they won't graduate this season 3. If I did, Fabrevans would stay forever. If I did, Chord would be a regular. If I did, I'd make an episode of Fabrevans getting married. But all these things aren't happening so it's pretty obvious I don't own it.**

* * *

><p>There was a club opening that night and somehow, Sam received an invite. It was an invite-only opening and he was surprised to even get one. He had a plus one ticket and was planning on bringing Cali. They both know they needed a break from school.<p>

He showered up, wore a black fitted v-neck that accentuated his well-sculpted body, some sexy jeans and sneakers. On the way out, he took a dark hoodie with him. He was to meet Cali at the venue.

A couple of blocks away, Quinn was madly looking for her ringing phone. She knew it was Brittany calling. The happy girl was ecstatic and at the same time nervous. She part-owned the club that was opening that night and Santana wouldn't be able to make it so that left Quinn for her to lean on. It was like an unspoken rule between the Trinity. Brittany, she was scared it would be a flop. They don't have a lot of distinct things to offer. Just a spacious dance floor, a light-filled bar, velvet booths and a different DJ every night. However, she hoped it would turn out into something like a competing stage for raw talents. She and her 2 other part-owners wanted to see talent who had an exemplary social life. Dancers, singers, and models. They needed them to launch a career.

Quinn was looking for something stylish yet classy, sweet but sexy kind of outfit when the phone went off. She finally found the phone stuffed inside one of her pillows.

"Britt?"

"Quinn, I'm so scared," Brittany opened.

"Don't be," Quinn bit her lip, imagining what Santana would say in such situation. "The opening will be a success. I can assure you that. If not, I would personally go Lima Heights Adjacent on your advertisers. With or without S. So calm down, B."

She heard the taller blonde from the other line sigh. "Okay. But can you please come now?"

"I'm just getting ready, B," Quinn replied as she shuffled through her closet. "I'll be there as soon as I can. Until then, go get something to drink, non-alcoholic. It's only 8 and I don't need to find you drunk before the actual opening."

"Q, you're beautiful already. You don't need to impress people you know," Brittany answered back, chuckling lightly. "But seriously, Q. You are, so get your butt here soon, please?"

"I will." They hung up. Quinn chose a dark violet bandage-styled dress with a white crisscross narrow-bandage appliqué in the center. It formed an X-strap on her back, meeting her sides above her elbows. It closed with a zipper behind and it was a v-neck and a sleeveless dress. Simple but elegant. She put on a white stiletto that lifted her off 3 inches from the floor and then she did her make up and hair. She doesn't need a lot of make up with her beauty but she still did apply a little gloss and blush and mascara every now and then to accentuate her face's features. She dried her short hair and let it loose. It was nearing 9 when she left her place, sling purse tucked in one shoulder as she drove to the place.

Quinn heard music blasting from the outside as she parked her car. She got out and walked towards the entrance as she double-checked her VIP pass. The man holding a clipboard approached her.

"You, Fabray?" a bulky man asked her.

"Yes, why?"

"Here," the man handed her a picture of the Trinity. Britt probably gave it to the guard to spot her easily. "Ms. Pierce wanted you in early." With that he turned around, motioning for her to follow him as he let her inside.

It was dark and she can feel the squeak of the tile against her shoes. Lights and lasers beamed around the place and she could see Brittany's figure at the bar. She approached the girl.

"Britt!" she exclaimed. The other blonde turned around and they enveloped each other in a long squeeze. Quinn noticed two other girls behind Brittany and a guy.

"Hey Q!" Brittany said as she turned to her friends. "These are my friends and partners, Jordin, Erin, Silver and her boyfriend Pierre." They exchanged greetings and got to know each other for a bit until their floor manager approached them, telling them that it's nearing 10 and that they will start letting people in. Silver and Erin headed up to the stage, acting as hosts for the night, Jordin took supervision of the bar with two bartenders with her, Pierre and Brittany went over to the sound booth where Pierre would be DJ-ing. Brittany reserved a VIP booth for their little group near the sound booth and Quinn headed to sit over there.

She was so proud of her friend. Both Brittany and Santana have come a long way since high school. Brittany was actually excelling with fashion design and got a few offers to model some jeans and a hair-coloring product (which, gladly, she denied.) Santana had her own segment at her university's TV show and interviewed known locals while dealing with some newspaper and magazine applications. And here she was. Quinn. Who cooked. Who made food. Who designed elegantly placed food for people. Who read books non-stop. Who wrote random things. Who pondered and took lots of pictures with her vast camera collection. But she wasn't close to home yet. She hasn't made it yet like Brittany or Santana. She took things slow. She lingered on the past, taking everything in slowly and not trying to grab on every opportunity she could even when a few hotels and private companies wanted to take her in immediately after college. She savored each step she took. She left behind the non-thinking Quinn who made ill-timed decisions, who got pregnant and got mono.

She brought herself out of her thinking and saw the place is nearly packed. Music was playing and the hosts were welcoming them and people cheered and cheered. She looked to the right and saw a familiar blonde from her peripheral vision. She squinted her eyes, powering through the lasers beaming throughout the place and in an instant, she knew who that person was. She can never forget how he looked with his back turned, his body forming an inverse triangle in some way, his hair hung handsomely at the back of his head. And then, he turned around, scanning the crowd in the dark room. She briefly saw his signature trouty lips as a light beam passed him.

It made her heart pound against her chest.

It made her left hand feel her right ring finger.

It made her bite her lip, squint her eyes like the nervous HBIC she used to be.

It made her stomach feel butterflies.

It also made her nervous and upset and sad and happy. All emotions rifling through her body with just seeing him again.

Quinn knows she and Sam are done. It's been three years and Sam has obviously moved on. She saw him, hand clasped to a shorter figure in Cali's form as they went over to the bar. They were done. Nothing will happen between them. Nothing's going to go between them ever again.

She looked up at the elevated sound booth to Brittany looking at her like she knew something. Brittany shrugged as Quinn turned back to her seat and took her phone out, contemplating about calling the Latina. Moments later, Brittany sat beside her, two drinks in hand, one for each of them.

"You knew." It wasn't an accusation or a question falling from Quinn's lips. It's just a statement.

"Always," Brittany replied quietly over the beat of the bass playing throughout the room. _When did she get so smart?_

"Did S put you up to this?" She questioned as she swirled her finger on the mouth of the long glass, feeling the vibration of the floor as people danced to the beat. She wasn't mad at her best friends. She just didn't think they could quickly put into actions whatever it is that they're planning for her. A plan she was kind of but not really in favor of.

"No, Q. This time, it's all me," Brittany replied, putting an arm around her best friend's shoulder. "I knew something was up when S took Sam's number from me."

"She what?" Quinn replied, mortified at the thought of Santana calling Sam, spilling her, Quinn's secret to the blonde guy.

"Quinn," Brittany said, trying to calm Quinn down. "Let's try to have some fun tonight, okay? Then you'll crash at my place afterwards, we'll talk, get Santana to talk too and we'll be there for you like we always will. Okay?" Quinn nodded. She didn't want to ruin Britt's night so she tried to enjoy hers. She got hit on and got a couple of drinks from guys but she all declined them, HBIC attitude on. She needed to be sober and not do anything stupid, not when Sam's a few yards away from her. She took drinks from Brittany though, talked and danced with Britt's friends. She didn't know most of the people in the place and figure they were all people who knew people. Quinn wanted to bring some of her friends that night but Britt needed her for assurance so she accepted one invite only when Brittany saved her five.

All was going so well when Cali, the person she really can't not like at the moment bumped in to her as she headed to the ladies' room.

"Quinn!" The brunette exclaimed in joy. The beat of the music slowly going down as the music changed and Quinn identified that voice in an instant. She turned around from closing the door and saw Cali.

"Hey," she said.

"Hey," Cali said back. "Never thought I'd see you here!" _God, what did she think I was? A no-life, other-people's-boyfriend-loving, kitchen-left, and a book-loving girl?_ Quinn thought.

"My best friend actually co-owns the place," Quinn said in full pride, flashing the other girl her signature sarcastic smile that Cali seemed to not notice.

"Oh! Must be why Sam's got one too," she shared as she took a look at her face in the mirror. "He was surprised when the invites came in the mail. He's never really the partying type."

Quinn smiles genuinely and starts washing her hands. Sam really isn't the partying kind of guy. He preferred being invited as to being the one initiating the parties. He chose movie marathons over girl-watching with Puck at the beach. He chose where he went to and what he did. In his world, that's him.

"Well, I've gotta go," Cali said, breaking Quinn's thoughts and smiling at the blonde. "I have to bring Sam home. He's drunk and midnight cabs are the worse."

"You let him get drunk?" Quinn asked in a possessive tone that didn't go by unnoticed to the other girl. There were other girls in the restroom so Cali ignored it purposely.

"Yeah, not really. It's all him," Cali said in her I'm-the-girlfriend tone. "Besides, last time he got drunk was like 7 months ago. He needed to loosen up." She smiled and started to head towards the door.

"Wait," Quinn said and Cali looked back. "I didn't mean it like that. It's just, I was used to girls not letting their guys get drunk so the guy can send her girl home safely." It was true. With her past of getting drunk and pregnant, she didn't feel right when she knows someone goes home with a drunken boy. It doesn't go well with her. "I've known people who made mis- wrongly-timed decisions," she stopped. She doesn't think Beth was a mistake. She was grateful of her extensive vocabulary at that moment. "Wrongly-timed decisions and well, you and Sam are my friends. He's nice and a perfect gentleman but you know…" she ended the statement hanging, hoping Cali would understand.

The brunette nodded. "Thanks. Don't worry about it." She started to leave again.

"Cali, why don't you take my car to his place?" She offered. She doesn't know why. She should be opposed to Cali in every way but it's just not in her heart to break Cali, well break Sam, again. She doesn't need a repeat of the past. "You can just stay the night there or something…" Quinn doesn't want to picture Cali and Sam sleeping together, both sexual and non-sexual way. It pained her but she wanted to prove to herself that this is still just a phase. Even when she's admitted it to herself that she's slowly falling back to her 17-year old self. Even when she's been thinking about her past with Sam more than necessary. She wanted to block her feelings out by convincing herself that Cali's better than her for Sam. She needed to or else she'd break another relationship. If she didn't get her feelings in line, she'd break Sam all over again and then he'll go back to his hole and not talk to anyone for a while.

"What? Why? How would you go home then?"

"You're sober. He's not," Quinn explained, pulling out her car keys. "I can take it tomorrow morning. I'm going home with Brittany and her friends anyway." She hands the car keys to Cali. "It's the cooper. You'll see it easily. I've got a good parking spot."

Cali smiled, "Thanks, Quinn." With that she left.

* * *

><p>"Q," the Latina from the other line said. It's 2 in the morning and the place is still packed. She headed outside to hear Santana better.<p>

"S," she said.

"How's the opening?" Santana asked. Quinn went towards a lamp post to lean on it, a few feet away from the entrance to the club.

"It's successful," she replied, smiling on to the phone. "Britt's enjoying herself."

"I hope in a good, non-break up-causing kind of way," Santana joked from the other line.

"Yeah, she's still her. Don't worry about her, I'm here."

"I know, Q. So, what about you?" Santana asked. Quinn bit her lip. "You saw him, huh? B texted me."

"I knew it," Quinn exhaled, her suspicions confirmed. "You made B give Sam passes. It wasn't just her like she said!"

"Yes, so?" Santana said in that so-what tone Quinn knew so well.

"So, did it not occur to you that even if Sam was here, he's got a girlfriend-"

"He only had one pass," Santana said, interrupting Quinn from her rant. "He can't bring anyone else."

"Well apparently, he could. He had Cali in there. I actually bumped into the girl 2 hours ago," Quinn exclaimed, her voice rising in annoyance.

"But I specifically told Britt to only give Sam one pass!" Santana shrieked. Boy, was Brittany going to get a lecture from Santana the next day. The poor blonde still had a hard time getting instructions from Santana when it comes to doing errands.

"It's not her fault, okay. Lay off your girl for a while. She's nervous enough this night wouldn't go well. She doesn't need her girlfriend giving her a lecture on how many tickets she can give to someone," Quinn replied, trying to calm Santana down and at the same time, saving Brittany's butt from any of Santana's words. " Look, S, I appreciate you helping but I'm not helping Sam cheat, that is if he even does fall in to cheating with me, on Cali. He's not like that, okay? I appreciate it, S. A lot. But no, okay? He's a happy guy."

"Okay, who are you and what have you done with my HBIC best friend?" Santana replied with a slight chuckle. "But seriously, I'm not helping you or him cheat on his girl. I'm trying to make him realize that you still have feelings for him."

"How is that even going to work? He's obviously into Cali and San, hate to break it to you, but this time, I think your plans are not working," Quinn said.

"Oh you're going to take that back when you have Sam again," Santana promised. "I swear."

"Bye San," Quinn said, wanting to end the convo so she can drag Britt in to going home.

"Wait. Deets tomorrow, okay? Get B home safe and-"

"I know the drill, S," Quinn interrupted the Latina this time. "Details tomorrow asap, get B home safe, make her breakfast she can reheat in the morning, set some pills for her hangover on the counter, and place Koala the Bear beside her on her bed. We've done this a lot of times, S. No worries." She finished and they both hung up.

* * *

><p>Sometime along the night or morning, while they were on their way home, Pierre told Quinn to take her car from whoever she lent it to because he's low on gas and he might not reach Brittany's place in time and Sam's place was near. So here she was, standing in front of Sam's place while Britt and her friends waited for her to get her car. She rang the doorbell but she figured Sam's probably dead asleep.<p>

She twisted the knob and to her surprised, it jerked open. A spotlight illuminated the kitchen and she could only see a figure on the couch. She entered the place like a thief in the night. She waited for Cali to bound down from upstairs for a while before concluding that Cali wasn't here with Sam. The boy was under some sheets on the couch on his boxers his back to the couch and hand splayed near his forehead and on the small table beside the couch. Quinn immediately saw her keys, giving herself a high five in her mind for putting a glow in the dark key ring on it. Sam's hand kind of lazed around the set of keys so she tiptoed quietly and tried to pry it from the boy's hand.

"Cali…" he muttered. Oh dear God, she didn't need to hear and see Sam dreaming about Cali.

Unfortunately, her hand jerked towards Sam's head, waking the guy up for a while but in a drunken state, it's obvious he won't remember a thing. Sam blindly grasped Quinn's arm and Quinn's heart raced faster. If she jerked her arm away, he'd wake up, realize it's not Cali, assume she's a thief and might hit her. Sam blindly searched for her face in the dark with his hands and reached her cheek. Quinn couldn't quickly go, her head wanted her to leave and go but her feet betrayed her. Her heart betrayed her. Sam pulled her in quickly, dropping a light kiss on her lips and it sent all kinds of insects and butterflies in Quinn's stomach. She almost melted at that one peck from those trouty lips of his even if he smelt of alcohol. She wanted to push the kiss further, to capture his lips once more but she stopped herself. For her and Sam's sake. "'Night, Cal." She frowned as he said Cali's name and let her go. She shouldn't be surprised though, Sam expected her to be Cali. After all, Cali should be the one he should be kissing.

Quinn took her keys and went out as fast as she could, locking the door of Sam's place on the way. She jogged to her car and took Brittany and Jordin in it with the help of Pierre. She drove to Brittany's place, a lot of blocks away from Sam. She almost took Brittany as her roommate but their schools were far apart, thus the split. She drove through the colorful and empty streets of New York with her heart racing, her mind racing, her mind and her heart replaying that short moment of kiss with Sam. She knows it's wrong and that it was a drunken mistake. Yes, it's a mistake this time. Quinn hoped that she wouldn't see Sam the next few days so she can compose herself around him because if she saw him soon, she'd jump and freak out. She didn't need Sam questioning her. It twisted her heart when she realized that Sam wouldn't remember it because he was drunk and that he didn't even know it was her because it was dark.

This was going to be so hard for Quinn. It was a night for her to truly remember. But that didn't stop her from thinking that karma would get to her even when this time, she's not at fault.

* * *

><p>"Damn, Sam," Cali muttered, her shoulders slumped from trying to get Sam inside his place. He was drunk and could barely stand on his own. She dropped him on his couch and took his sneakers off. "Why did you have to get so drunk?" She exclaimed. Sam groaned and buried himself under the couch pillows as Cali took off his pants and hoodie off of him. She took a blanket and covered Sam up and then leaned on to Sam to kiss him goodnight.<p>

"'Night, Sam," Cali muttered. "I love you." She stood up and left Quinn's car keys on the small table beside the couch.

"'Night, Q," Sam muttered as he turned around. Cali froze at Sam's words. She wanted to wake him up and call him out. Her heart raced, she didn't know what to do. She wanted to cry, to be mad, to feel sorry for herself, to hit Sam's head, to be pissed at Quinn. Her nerves felt all tingly and she felt like she was hit on the head. Cali wanted to convince herself that Sam's just drunk and that he should be excused but it was no use. All she could think of was Sam thinking of another girl. She took a deep breath, tried to calm herself down and gathered her things. Any moment now, her tears would betray her and she quickly left, not bothering to lock Sam's door. He was her first real boyfriend and he broke her with two words.

* * *

><p>Quinn woke up on Britt's couch at 10 in the morning. She got up and peeked at the other blonde's room and she was still fast asleep and tangled under the sheets. It was no use that no matter how late she slept; she still managed to be up early during weekends. Boy was she glad she had the day off. Quinn headed over to the kitchen and took some things to make breakfast with. She made bacons, cheese omelette and some cinnamon toasts that Britt loved so much. She enjoyed cooking for people since she was introduced to their kitchen when she was five. She used to make cookies and other sweets with her easy bake ovens, she used to volunteer putting whipped cream and icing on desserts, she enjoyed opening the oven to smell the food. It wasn't a passion much like her reading and writing but it was a great hobby for her. It took her mind of things like Sam's kiss last night. Well, not really because the moment she made the bacons, it looked like Sam's mouth so she remembered. She ate her food and left some for Brittany in the fridge before calling Santana.<p>

"What's up, bitch?" The Latina from the other line greeted annoyingly.

"Good morning to you too, miss cranky," she replied sarcastically.

"Sorry, I'm just so fucking stressed out right now! Stupid crew hasn't finished the script yet and like what the fuck ever, they all thought I finished it!" Santana replied annoyingly.

"Oh, well that's too bad," Quinn replied, not really in the mood for Santana's anger. "I can call you later."

"Nah, it's okay. What's up, Q? I know you hate me when I'm pissed but you called," she answered. "Is Britt okay?"

"Yeah, I stayed the night," Quinn replied as she brought the dishes to the sink. "And on the couch, S. Don't worry."

"Something bothering you?"

"Yeah," Quinn trailed off, unsure how to tell Santana what happened earlier.

"Spill, tubbers. I don't have all the time in the world."

And then Quinn told her the whole story from when she lent Cali her car to Sam kissing him by accident.

"Well shouldn't you be happy? You finally made it to first base with Sam!" The Latina replied happily as Quinn started cleaning the dishes, phone tucked between one shoulder and an ear.

"I told you. No cheating. I just wish he's to drunk to remember a thing. I admit, it felt good," Quinn answered. "Okay, well really good that I almost wanted to kiss him back but no. This is really bad, S. I've never gotten it this bad for anyone."

"Okay, I'm no shrink Q," Santana shared. "B's your shrink when it comes to feelings, okay? I'll deal with Sam for you-"

"No! Gosh San, don't even talk to him about me! And why did you even get his number? Please don't do anything stupid, San," the blonde panicked. "Just, you know. Lay off a while. I'm not stopping you from contacting him, he's your friend too but not now, please?"

"No promises Q," Santana said with finality. "I'm not going to screw things up for you. I know you and I know you can easily charm the boy back but you're too Christian to do something bad about it for now. But I promise, I won't fuck him and his girl up. Hold on to that."

"Okay, please," Quinn pleaded again. "Cali's better than I am for him. They deserve each other…"

"Stop it with the self-pity, blondie. Doesn't look good on you," Santana replied back to Quinn as she finished cleaning up. "You deserve Sam so much, I know you. I don't know this Cali person but from what I heard, Mike's kind of annoyed with the girl."

"What? How did- I don't even wanna know right now," Quinn muttered as she took a sit on the couch, her feet tucked under her.

"Talked to Tina and mike for a bit," Santana casually replied. "You're not the only one in touch with the club, Q. I'll talk to you later after my segment, okay? Wake Britt up before lunch so I can talk to her, okay?"

"Yeah," Quinn answered. "And San, I'm holding on to whatever you said you wouldn't do."

"Got it, chica."

* * *

><p>Sam groaned as sunlight hit his eyes. He looked towards the wall clock and saw it was past lunch time. He squinted, silently thanking gods for giving him a no-clock in job. He sat up and adjusted to light as his head throbbed. <em>God, how drunk was I?<em> He buried his face on hands, trying to remember what happened the night before but he can't remember much. All he remembered was him trying out all the colorful drinks laid out at the bar and trying that short beer bong offered to him. He remembered dragging Cali up to the bar when he saw Quinn that night in her beautiful outfit. He almost felt like he violated Quinn from afar as he felt a hard on coming that night. He stopped, thinking of coach Bieste and he was sorry for that again right now. And then, he woke up to his place.

He stood up and searched for his phone under the blankets and grinned triumphantly when he found it.

_Four text messages. 3 voicemails. _It read. He opened the messages.

Cali: "Call me when you can. We need to talk."

Brittany: "Hope you had fun last night! Thanks for coming! xo"

Cali: "You up?"

Santana: "Heard you were drunk as shit. Hahaha "

He shook his head at Santana's text message. Brittany probably saw him last night and told Santana about it. He pressed some buttons to listen to some voicemail.

Cali: "Sam, I… We need to talk." She sounded mad and like she was trying to hold back tears. The next two voicemails were just Cali hiccupping and he heard some cries before the message was cut.

Sam panicked at Cali's crying. He can't remember if something happened last night. He can't even remember how he sent Cali home. _Or did she go home alone? Way to be a boyfriend, douche._

He got up and showered and then headed out to Cali's place. He texted her on his way to her place and received no reply.

He rang the buzzer and he was let in. He opened the door to Cali's place, his girlfriend buried under the arms of her bestfriend and roommate, Emma, on the couch. Cali turned to look at him, eyes bloodshot and nose stuffed. Emma got off of Cali as Sam walked towards Cali.

"How dare you!" Emma angrily replied, slapping Sam in the cheek. "Cali's been so good to you and-"

"Em," a stuffy-nosed Cali interrupted, stopping her bestfriend from harming Sam anymore. Sam was confused as fuck but he knows he must've done something so wrong last night. "Can you please give us some privacy?" She choked through sobs. Emma gave Sam a long look of anger and disgust before leaving for her room.

When Sam thought it was safe, he sat down beside Cali. He tried putting an arm around her but she shrugged it off.

"We're done, Sam," Cali said simply.

"What? I'm so sorry, but I don't remember much of last night," Sam said, his heart racing. He wasn't sure he wanted this opportunity or not. He wasn't even sure what really happened. "I don't want to break up, Cali. I like you a lot."

"See? I'm giving you an out already. Just take it, Sam," Cali almost pleaded, trying to stop her self from crying. Her eyes were so bloodshot and she felt like she had cried so much already.

"But why?" Sam wanted to know, trying to get a hold of Cali's hand.

"Listen to yourself!" She exclaimed, pulling her hand back and putting her feet up in front her like a defense barrier. "You can't even say you love me back! You never said it to me since we started dating and don't even deny it!" She quickly added as Sam opened his mouth to interrupt. "And last night, it was the last straw for me! You were being so unfair to me this whole time. You can't say you love me, you can't even ask me out on random afternoons and be a sweet boyfriend every once in a while! And last night, you wanna know what happened?" She ranted, not really giving Sam time to answer her. "You said "'night, Q. " Quinn, Sam! Quinn! What the fuck, Sam?" She noted through tears.

"What! Shit! I'm so sorry, Cal," Sam apologized sincerely, trying to hug Cali but was stopped with a push. "I didn't mean it. I swear! I was just so drunk and I didn't what I was doing." It was partly true but he can't understand why he remembered nearly having a boner at the sight of Quinn but not what he said to Cali.

"I'm giving you a chance to get out of this, Sam," Cali replied a few silent moments later. "I know you regret it but it's not just that. It's… It's all this new you… Since Quinn… Well, since you saw her again, you've been acting really different. You always zoned out, you wanted to head out to where she works, you talked immensely about her. Sam, it's too much for a girl's boyfriend to be talking so boldly about his ex. It felt like the beginning of an end. Sam, I'm letting you go, we're over. We're both sorry so please just go."

Sam really didn't know if it was a relief or something but he hugged Cali. Muttering another apology as he kissed her temple. He breathed deeply. He was hurt but not hurt enough to cry. He enjoyed Cali's company and all but she was no Quinn. He wasn't even sure he still liked Quinn or if he just missed Quinn. He didn't even notice he changed around Cali since Quinn came back to his life. "You're still going to be a part of my life, Cal. You're amazing and special and I'm really, truly sorry." She nodded.

"Please go," Cali sobbed loud and hard and Emma's door burst open, quickly enveloping Cali into a hug.

"You better leave now," Emma said in a threatening voice. "It's for the best." Sam nodded and headed out the door, out to his newly given freedom.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Read and reviews please! Let's try bringing it until 15 reviews, can we do that? I have chapter four uploaded here already. When I get that 15 reviews, I'll post it :) Oh and what do you think about Cory & Chris & Lea leaving Glee after season 3? We all know it'd happen eventually but I wanna know what you think. Oh and good news, Chord will stay as regularly as possible like he did in season 2. I think I'll be okay with that. And I hope they bring Fabrevans back!**


	4. Chapter 4

It's been about a month since the kiss happened and it's still so vivid in Quinn's mind. She can easily go back to that night and replay the whole thing in her head and it sent shivers down her spine because it still feels like she can actually feel Sam right at that moment. She hasn't heard from him for a while and she was thankful for that. Quinn wouldn't know how to deal with him if he saw her. She figured he hasn't remembered the kiss because if he did, she knows she'll have heard from him. She doesn't know if she should be happy about it or not because fact is, she missed him. Quinn knows she can be in that territory but not more than that. It's bad enough that she has growing feelings for him. She misses his Na'vi moments, his dorky but cute impressions, his blonde hair that she loved to comb through with her hands, his abs that were glorious enough to substitute for a keypad and his random morning texts. It seemed awful if one looked at her situation from the outside but she didn't care. Quinn didn't want to ruin Sam's life by wrecking another relationship. She's over that kind of phase and she's matured enough to know that other people's feelings are actually at risk. This time, she was willing to forget and let go. She was willing to sacrifice her feelings and put others before her first. She's willing to lock her heart up for Sam's sake.

Her phone rings, pulling her out of her trance. She was doing some dietary research when her iTunes suddenly played Lucky, bringing her back in time 3 years ago. She grabs her phone and her heart felt like it jumped out of the cage.

Sam.

She let it ring for a while before it was too late to answer it. It sent Sam to her voicemail.

_Hi, you've reach Quinn. I can't answer right now so leave a message and we can talk later. _

"Um, hey Quinn. Haven't heard from you in a while. Just wanted to see how you were doing. Yeah um, if you can or um…" There was a pause and she heard paper rustle from the other line. "Or want to call me back, or maybe I could just call you back or something? Yeah, bye."

She never heard Sam talk so nervously. It sent shivers down her spine and butterflies in her stomach. She smiled at the thought of Sam. Her phone rang again. She sent the call to voicemail again, not bothering to look at who was calling as she had more research to do.

"Hi, it's me again. Sorry for calling you twice and you're obviously super busy and all and it's probably lame for me to ask you this but," Quinn's heart raced, she so badly want to answer her phone but she was too stunned to move as Sam paused and she waited with baited breath as to what he was going to ask. "Do you think we can hang out sometime soon? When you're not at work? I know this is lame and all but… Yeah, okay this is awkward. Bye."

She smiled. She smiled her million-watt smile.

Sam Evans wanted to see her. Quinn momentarily forgot about Cali but she didn't care. She wanted to see Sam as well, give him a friendly hug and chat. She wanted to call him back as soon as she could but that would make her seem desperate – even though she was dying to see him – she still had her pride.

About an hour later, she called him back.

"Hey Sam," she opened, grinning from ear to ear. "I got your message. I was doing some school work so I wasn't able to answer your call."

"Oh that's alright," he replied. "I left an awkward voicemail to you and I didn't think you'd call back and all."

Quinn chuckled lightly, "It's fine, Sam. I don't think it's lame. And yes, we can hang out sometime like you said." She was hoping for more but this is better than no Sam at all.

"Great! When are you free?" Sam asked, smiling through his phone like it was a camera waiting go off.

"I can do Friday around 7, after my shift," she answered after a few moments. She kind of spazzed out from Sam asking her to hang out.

"Okay, that's cool. I'll call you then?"

"Yeah, sure," Quinn replied happily.

* * *

><p>Friday rolled around fast and here was Sam, waiting for Quinn's shift to end. He was always punctual with Quinn. Something he picked up from when they used to date. God knows the girl didn't want anything late. And by anything, her period counted thus the quick knowing of her pregnancy back in sophomore year.<p>

Quinn let him sit in one of the booths and asked for him to wait for a bit so she can get her things ready. She was wearing a simple pair of jeans that hugged her lower body so effortlessly, a loose top and two layers of layered clothing. She may be a barista but that doesn't mean she can't dress awesomely even with her apron on. Sam played on his iPhone for a while, a white hoodie wrapped around him and inside was his signature v-neck tee. Quinn approached him.

"Hey," she said. "Do you wanna go?"

"Yeah sure," Sam replied, putting his phone back in his pocket as they headed out.

They strolled the busy streets of New York, people watching, car watching. It was kind of silent between them because neither knew what to say. Fortunately, Sam was good at breaking ice.

"So…" Sam started to say as Quinn hugged her fluffy jacket over her tighter. "Cali broke up with me…"

Quinn, startled by Sam's revelation stopped walking to look at him. She can't believe her ears. "What? When? How?"

"Chill with the questions, Quinn," Sam said, holding Quinn's elbow to make her start walking again. He wanted to bring her to this cool pizza place he loved so much. When they arrived, Sam bought their food and they sat in a booth.

"I love this pizza place," Sam commented through mozzarella cheese. "It makes me feel guilty but I make up for my body the next day. Four-hour work out minimum."

Quinn laughed a little. Same ol' Sam, still super body conscious. "So…" Quinn started to speak. "About earlier…" She left her words unspoken, hoping Sam would get it. He was dyslexic but he was good at this kind of things.

"Oh, well we broke up about a month ago," he explained. He thought he'd mope around a little longer but one morning he decided that it's just done. He's not that sad to see Cali go, to see her let him go. It wasn't complicated. Sam had an idea why he got it over easily but he isn't ready to acknowledge it. "Actually she dumped me. After Britt's club's opening, the morning after. She said we're done."

Quinn's mind raced back to that night. The kiss.

She kept thinking if Sam remembered, if Sam went all-honest to Cali about it and told her about it. If that was the reason why Sam asked her to hang out. She gulped before saying, "Umm… Do you want to talk about it?" Sam isn't the one to open up entirely but this is Quinn. Sam always had a special place in his heart for her.

He shrugged, "If you want to hear it."

Quinn looked him in the eye as if reading his thoughts. She bit lower lip and tilted her head to the side before nodding. Sam narrated the story, skipping the part where he said Quinn's name.

"I'm sor-" Quinn replied after she let him talk.

"Quinn, I hope you know that this isn't your fault," Sam interrupted the girl, touching her hand for effect. "It's all me. I guess… To be honest with you, I just really missed your company a lot. And when I miss people, I tend to babble about them a lot. I guess that threw her off the track."

Quinn smiled and she thought it was really sweet of him to have missed her. She wanted him to miss her. She felt loved, she felt special. Quinn felt a bit guilty for being the probable cause of Sam and Cali's break up but she believed Sam when he said it's not her fault. It just felt right. However, just because Sam missed her doesn't mean they could easily fall back to their old routine. It doesn't work like that anymore. Things change and it's not always good or easy. Sam wanted so bad to hug Quinn right there and then. It's like he wanted to assure her that it's not her fault and that she shouldn't blame herself for anything. He always saw through Quinn. Quinn was open to him but right now, years apart, he doesn't think his readings are right but he knew the girl's feelings at that moment.

"How are you feeling about it?" she asks, wanting to know what was going through his head.

"I think I'll be fine. I realized, she was right actually," Sam replied before sipping his drink. "I think it's good I never said things I didn't mean to her and lead her on."

* * *

><p>One night, two months later, they were hanging out at Quinn's place after he picked her up from her shift. They've fallen into Friday routines. Every Friday, they always went out to do something, hung out. They went bowling, watched movies, went to try different restaurants, strolled the streets of New York, did random photo shoots, she cooked for him when she wanted to try out a new dish, he brought old movies for them to watch and all that. During other days, they texted or called each other when they could just to chat. They were watching some movie, sitting beside each other while eating some Chinese takeout when Quinn's phone rang. She stood up and walked away to answer it.<p>

"Yes, Santana?" she answered in a happy voice that almost gave her away.

"Hello, Q," the Latina replied, sly in her voice.

"What are you up to?" Quinn replied, noticing the tone in Santana's voice.

"Oh nothing, Quinnie," Santana answered. Quinn heard another giggling voice from the other side.

"Are you with Britt? Is she in Jersey?" Quinn asked, easily recognizing the other blonde's giggle.

"Oh no, girl. Actually, I'm in New York for the weekend," Santana replied with that Latin tone.

"You should've told me!" Quinn replied happily. She missed Santana and she hasn't seen her in months. "We should hang out! Where are you guys?"

"Oh we're right in front of your apartment. You might want to draw the blinds, Q. We can see you and Sam from across your place," Santana answered, laughing together with Brittany from the other line.

"What?" Quinn exclaimed as she walked towards her window, Sam took notice and he sat up straight. Sure enough, the Latina and her blonde girlfriend leaning in front of Santana's car parked in front of her apartment. "Stalkers." She mumbled.

"Oh shut up, Q. We didn't even know you and him are together-"

"We're not okay," she whispered hastily, interrupting Santana's assumptions. She walked away from Sam's earshot. "We're just hanging out."

"But Britt mentioned that Sammy and the other girl we're splitsville," Santana reckoned. "Don't tell me you haven't charmed him back yet."

"We're not… It's-"

"Oh hell no, Q," Santana exclaimed, things clicking into place. "You and him, you guys are floating right? You don't know what you guys are!"

"I… I don't know, okay? I'll see you tomorrow at the club," Quinn reacted quickly, suddenly realizing how right the Latina was. "Just be there."

She hung up and seconds later, she heard a car starting and leaving. Quinn didn't know what she and Sam were. He hasn't asked and she hasn't thought about it. Come to think of it, it seemed like they were dating minus the intimacy and romantic gestures. He simply picked him up on Friday nights to hang, just the two of them. However, Quinn isn't the type to guess. She liked confrontation and upright confessions. She was either this or that. No in-betweens. She hated that and she hated herself for not noticing her current situation with Sam. It took Santana to make her realize that it was more than hanging out. She sat beside Sam, fidgeting a little when she brushed thighs with him. Too bad, Sam could notice her easily.

"Anything wrong?" He asked a little later when he got distracted with all the fidgeting. He glanced at the window, wondering why Quinn looked out there earlier. He didn't need to ask if everything's alright because clearly it's not. He still quite knew her.

She shook her head, "No, everything's dandy," she hastily replied, giving her away. Here she though she could hide her emotions. Maybe she was good at getting people to tell her things, she was good at confronting things when it was in her favor but this time, she was afraid. She doesn't want to be rejected. She doesn't want to confront Sam only to be turned down and that wasn't definitely in her favor.

"No… I don't think it is," he said, pressing the issue on even though he knows Quinn doesn't like it. He reached for the remote and lowered the volume down to let Quinn know he's listening. "Did something happen?"

"No, nothing," she replied, turning away from him. She bit her lip knowing that if he looked at those concerned eyes of Sam, she will break. She's afraid that with that one look of care, her walls made of 'don't-tell-Sam-you-want-him-back' would come crashing down. Instead, she reached for the remote and turned the volume up high. She heard Sam sigh.

He stood up, "Well, I thought we've at least established something here," he said, voice clear and stern. Quinn flinched at that bold statement. "Clearly, we haven't. I've opened up to you. I don't want to push you but I don't know Quinn. Maybe I should just go."

He walked towards the coat rack before Quinn gathered the courage and spoke out, "Sam, don't go."

He turned to her. He saw her eyes, a pair of sad hazel green eyes looking back at him, silently pleading him. It always made his knees weak. Her beautiful eyes were a crucial part of her that attracted him in the first place. "Quinn-"

"I'll tell you, okay?" Quinn said, not really wanting to tell Sam but she knows it's the only way he'll stay. Sam could never turn her down, not when she did her innocent look. It made her feel bad knowing that Sam would fall for the innocent face but she's harvesting all her feelings and courage to bundle it up together and ship it to him. At least to try and tell him what she has to. Sam went to sit beside her again, this time he looked at her, waiting for her to start talking. "I… Sam, I'm just confused."

"About what?" he asked, hoping for her to continue speaking.

"This," she said, motioning between them as he avoided his gaze. "I… I don't… I don't know what... What we are… We're constantly hanging out and I know it's stupid but… But I'm still a girl Sam and I've been getting these vibes… These vibes from you these past few weeks… The times we spent nights hanging out… I get them. It's confusing. I don't know if you're doing it on purpose or whatever but I just… I need to know." She ended quickly, not letting Sam to bother her ramble not one bit. She was tearing up but she did her best to hold them back.

Sam looked at her, stunned. He figured he wasn't going to let Quinn know early that he likes her again, that he wants her again, that he needs her and enjoys her company. He thought he was being subtle but his soul has subtly denied him that subtlety. He wasn't ready for another commitment, not when he has a past with Quinn. Not when his past with her was the sole reason he could not focus on girls he dated. Not when she broke him when she cheated on him. He always prided himself on not harboring bad feelings but with Quinn, she brought everything out in him, both the good and the bad. It's been years, he has mostly forgiven her but he hasn't forgotten. Truth is, he was afraid that it's all going to the same way again with her. That was why he hasn't asked her out officially, he doesn't want exclusivity at the moment. He wants harmless fun with Quinn and just work his way back up, to try again but Quinn beat her to the question.

"I… Quinn… I'm so sorry-" and her dams broke, the tears she was choking back, finally spilling at the sound of rejection. He quickly enveloped her into a hug, Quinn choking back her cry and shaking her head.

She wiped her eyes, pulling away from Sam. "It's okay," she said, flashing a fake smile. "It's stupid I know. I should've known. I took everything the wrong way and-"

"Quinn," he said, his voice clear and deep. "Please, stop crying and let me finish." She wiped her eyes again as Sam hugged her again. She let him; she loved hugging Sam and inhaling his water-like perfume smell. She inhaled deeply to stop her tears as Sam stroke her back, shushing her. "I don't want to confuse you anymore but I don't want to lead you on," he pulled a bit away from her, getting lost in her teary hazel green eyes in the process.

"I get it," she said, pulling away completely.

"No, you don't. Let me finish, Quinn," he said again, holding her hands in his as he stroke her fingers with his thumbs. "I wanted this to happen. I wanted to spend time with you because… I missed you…" He trailed, thinking of how to put his words out there as Quinn waited for him in baited breath. "And I also want to date you again," Quinn's eyes brightened at this. She sent a teary smile at him, which he grinned at back. "But I need to be honest with you," she nodded, urging him to go on. "I don't know if I can be fully commit with you right now. I don't think I'm ready. We had a past that still slightly makes lonely when I think about it. I don't want to make you feel like you're dating someone who can't fully commit to you. You don't deserve it." Quinn looked at him, gazed at him with so much want and need. It was her fault that they broke up in the first place and now it still all bounces back to her when Sam says he couldn't be fully committed with her right now. Yet, no matter how it was her fault, she appreciates so much that he still wants the best for her. "I want to be committed, I need to be committed, I like it like that and you know that, Quinn. I just need…"

"I will do anything to gain your trust back, Sam," Quinn says, stopping him for a bit.

"I know, Quinn. Whatever feelings we have for each other right now," he hugged her again, close to his heart as he dropped a kiss on her forehead. "It's there. It's not going away. We can be what you want or need us to be but I don't think I can commit to anything and I'm afraid you wouldn't want that."

"But I need you, Sam. I would want anything that has to do with you," she muffled in his chest as she felt his heartbeat beating fast. She pulled away, "I'm sorry for what I've done. I'm truly sorry. And I appreciate it so much for still prioritizing me when I don't deserve it."

He shook his head, "You deserve the best, Quinn." She smiled at him as she hugged him. They stayed like that for a while, cradled in each other's arms before Quinn spoke up.

"Then what are we?" she asked quietly.

Sam was quiet for a while, "I thought wanted us to date? Didn't we just clear that up?"

"But you said you can't commit… No exclusivity…" she trailed off, drawing circles on Sam's arm.

"I never said we couldn't start over again," he smiled at her. "I just-"

"I will do anything to gain your trust back," she said once more, sincerity wrapping her words.

"I know that," Sam says, assuring the girl that he believes in her words. This was one step to letting Quinn back and Quinn was happy he's starting to believe her.

She smiled in answer to him. "I'll be fine with no commitment, I guess. I just need to gain your trust back. We'll work on it. I'll work on it. I need your trust back."

* * *

><p><strong>AN: I'm sorry that it's short. The next chapter's already planned up. I just need to type it. Let's try getting it to 30 reviews, can we do that? And also, to my reviewers who said that Chord was fired, I'd like to clear that up. He isn't fired. He's just not a regular. Also, not everyone's fired after season 3, only Lea, Cory and Chris are confirmed to read. Read the article below.**

**Read it here: www(dot)hollywoodreporter(dot)com(slash)live-feed(slash)glees-ryan-murphy-optimistic-chord-210925**


	5. Chapter 5

** A/N: I am utterly devastated about Chord's decision to not return to Glee even after being "offered" a possible regular status halfway through season 3. Can't blame him though. Why put him in guest spot status if he'll be in every episode like a regular cast? FISHY BUSINESS. I will miss Sam and his Sam-ness. I will forever crey my unhappy Fabrevans ending. However, I will always support Chord (except his love life unless it's Dianna,) and I hope he will still return to Glee as a guest sometimes and probably to start and LDR with Quinn.**

* * *

><p>Quinn met up with Brittany and Santana at the club the next day. The Unholy Trinity looking holy smoking hot without even trying hard. They sat at a VIP booth as people danced around and music played. They all had Tequila Sunrises on their table.<p>

"So, what's up with you and Sam?" Santana asked, smirking at Quinn.

"Yeah and why isn't he here?" Brittany added, playing with the umbrella of her drink.

"He has to finish some portfolio," Quinn replied, opting to answer the other blonde's question instead of the brunette's.

Santana raised her eyebrow at being ignored, "Okay, Britt, baby, maybe we should ask Quinn questions," she said. "One at a time. You know, so she couldn't dodge some of them." She ended, shooting Quinn a look.

"Okay, I don't think this is the right place to talk about this," Quinn answered.

"Well you wanted to come here," Santana replied as she put her arm around Brittany's waist.

"Because I wanted to have fun!" Quinn exclaimed. "I mean, I haven't seen in you forever, bitch. We three barely hang out anymore."

"She's right, S," Brittany shared, looking at her lover. "We can talk about it at my place tonight."

"We can't," Santana answered her girlfriend. "Because when we get back to your place, we're going to have an amazing series of sex that Quinn may not even get to say a word."

Quinn almost spluttered out her drink at the Latina's words. "What the fuck? You had to say that out loud?" Santana just shrugged with no care.

"I don't care. Come on, Q. No one's going to hear your story. It's too loud and people didn't come here to hear your sob story, you know," the brunette said before sipping her drink.

"Okay, fine. If you interrupt me," she said, shooting Santana a look. "I will stop." The two agreed to her condition. "Okay. So Sam and I are… Complicated. Cliché, I know," Quinn adds as Santana's eyebrow shoots up. "I really like him. Like a lot more than I did back in high school. I don't think I really got over him."

"You don't say?" Brittany said knowingly. Quinn gives her a questioning look. "Come on, Q. We're not blind. I may be stupid but not blind. Everyone knows you still have it pretty bad for him."

"B's right, Q. If Sam wasn't too poor and preoccupied back then, he would've seen it. Had he done something about it, Mercedes wouldn't have stood a chance," Santana added. "I mean, I liked that Mercedes had her share of a nice guy, but I'm still on your side."

"I thought no interruptions?" Quinn asked, not really wanting to stop talking but the thoughts her two best friends shared really boggled her mind.

"Don't act like you weren't interested with what we just told you, Fabray," the Latina smugly replied. Quinn just shook her head.

"Anyway, so I like Sam. And when you guys called me last night, I realized, that I didn't really know what we were, where we stood. I didn't notice it and it was really stupid of me. So since I realized it, I became all kinds of nervous and he noticed me. He wanted me to tell him what was up. I told him it was nothing. So he says he thought we were establishing something and he almost left my place but then I stopped him before he could. I mean, what could I do? I enjoyed his company, I want to be back with him, you guys know that enough. I turn into a bad sap at night just thinking about him. So then, I asked him what we were, why he was being so nice, why we had Friday nights together. Sam told me he missed me and I admit I was disappointed in hearing that but in my position, I really couldn't ask for more. Then he added that he wanted to date me again but with no strings attached kind of way."

"And you're letting him?" Santana once again interrupted. "I mean, you're Quinn. You don't do those kind of things. We know you."

"I can't do anything else, S. He confessed that he couldn't really ask me out officially because he was scared that I'd hurt him again. He can't commit because of what I did to him and now, I need to gain his trust back," Quinn explained further. "I can't blame him for that. He's a nice guy."

"Then? Did you have the 'feelings' talk further?" Brittany asked interestedly.

"Yeah, I think. Kind of. He said, and I quote, 'Whatever feelings we have for each other, it's there.' Unquote. I don't know what to make of that but the fact that he still or probably likes me again. I think I'm good for now."

"Okay, so let me clear this up. You and Trouty Mouth, no commitment, no exclusive dating but with feelings?" Santana asked, biting her lip as if she was thinking about something. She's a bad ass and when it comes to her friends, she may be a bitch but she can't let them not have the best of everything. Quinn nodded at her question, squinting back at the Latina like she knows what she's up to. She decided to let it go as Brittany dragged them to the dance floor. "Okay… But I'm warning you Q, casual relationships are so not your thing and you know that. I know you don't want me to say "I told you so" in the end."

* * *

><p>Nine in the morning rolled around quickly and Sam banged his head down on the table. He was finishing 3 more designs for his scholarship portfolio. He already re-scheduled his appointment for it when Cali broke up with him and his ideas were all kinds of disoriented and he didn't find any satisfaction in his works so he repeated 5 of them. Sam didn't get any sleep since yesterday from working his ass off. His schedule was becoming busier, he covered more shift hours and his portfolio deadline is fast approaching.<p>

Ding!

The doorbell rang and he stood up, hair all over his forehead and the smell of morning emitting from him. He opened the door to a cheery looking Quinn, bagels in one hand and coffees in the other.

_God, she looks adorable. _He thinks, looking her up and down as he smiled to himself.

She's wearing that red coat she wore from when they were in New York for Nationals, some brown boots, and a white dress that looked so beautiful on her.

"Good morning," she brightly smiled at him, which he reciprocated. He stepped aside and let her in. "Oh wow, Sam." She commented, seeing the mess of a living room he currently has. Pillows, magazines, books, scratchpads and coloring materials were all over the place She turned back to him, looked him up from head to toe as he scratched his head. "You look awful," she quipped, biting her lip with an apologetic face.

He shrugged, yawning in the process. "Good morning to you too, and I had no sleep since yesterday so I deserve to look awful." Quinn sent a questioning look to him as he set down the food on the table.

"What? Why? Come on. Have breakfast with me," Quinn offered and Sam walked over to her and they both sat down.

"I was trying to finish my portfolios. It's due Friday for presentation and I had some designer's block," Sam explained through a cream cheese bagel.

"You still have five days," Quinn tells him as she brushed Sam's mess of a hair.

"I just want them done so I could go home from work every night without worrying that I haven't finished them," Sam smiled as Quinn's hands combed through his messy blonde hair. He loved feeling her slender fingers brush against his scalp. It sent a relaxing feeling through out his body and made him feel, for some reason, safe. He can smell her fruity, strawberry scent from her seat and that made him want to just go up and smell her. _Creepy,_ he thought.

They finished their breakfast after some time and Sam stood up to clean up but Quinn beat him to it.

"Let me," she says, stopping his hand from getting their dishes. It may seem stupid but Sam never fails to give her that good kind of shiver. Every touch, even after all these years, it still made her insides tingle. "You um… You grab a nap and I'll-"

"But I still have things to do," he exclaims, motioning at his messy work area and scratching his head in slight frustration.

"No, mister. You take a good nap while I clean up a bit around here. I'll wake you up in a bit and make sure you have time to finish them, okay?" she smiled, wanting the best for Sam, acting like a real girlfriend. He may not be committed to her but she was committed to him. They have something going on between them again and right now, that was kind of enough for her. All she has to do was to prove to him that she's not going anywhere, that she's here to stay.

He smiles at her, looked at her with intensity that Quinn couldn't help but blush at. "You're the best, you know that?" He says and kisses her cheek. Quinn looked stunned for a moment as Sam pulled away. She was surprised but extremely giddy at the same time. His lips felt magical against her cheek. It was soft and rough at the same time, his unshaven face brushes against her cheeks, feeling the slight roughness. "I'm allowed to do that, right?" He asked like he made a wrong move.

"Of course, yeah," Quinn tries to hide a smile that's waiting to burst out but fails. He smiles back at her, kisses her forehead and he heads to the couch to get some rest.

* * *

><p>Sam opened a new email an hour after Quinn left to go home. It was about his scholarship presentation and the formal for scholarship applicants the next day. It said he had to bring a Parsons student as a date, just in case VIPs ask about him and how he's doing in school.<p>

_Crap_, he thought. He contemplated on telling Quinn. _I mean, we're not exclusive…_ _We're not official. That's okay, right?_

He dialed an all-too familiar number.

* * *

><p>Quinn was with Santana over at Brittany's apartment that night when she received a detailed email from their school's dean about their trip to Jersey, where they'll be staying, what time they're leaving and all that. She and bunch of other students were to head out to Jersey this weekend for an all-expense paid 2-day international cuisine expo. She had yet to tell Sam that.<p>

"Hey, San, you think I could come visit you this weekend? I'm headed to Jersey for an expo for school," Quinn asked, locking her phone. The Latina hiding behind a newspaper mumbled a 'yes but bring your own food' before flipping the page. Santana was currently an exchange student for Carnegie Mellon, doing a year at Rutgers, NJ.

Quinn texted Sam right away, wondering if she was supposed to do that. After all, they weren't exclusive. _Only exclusive people who do those things_, she thought.

**Sammm :) **Her text said, adding the extra letters for sweetness.

Moments later, she hears that familiar ping sound from her iPhone. **Yup?** **: )** He replied back.

**I'm heading to NJ this weekend for a school convention. Is that ok?** She typed back.

She waited quite a bit for his reply before reading: **Yeah, I guess... I have things to do** **anyway. Be safe though, ok?**

_What things? _She stood up from the couch and dialed Sam's number. She wants to know what's up and she also missed his voice.

"Hey," she spoke softly, a grin spreading in her face.

"Hi, Q," he replied back, a smile stretch along his face. "Whatcha doing in NJ?"

"School stuff. Like an expo for some food," Quinn muttered back, trying to not let Santana eavesdrop into their conversation. She loved talking to Sam about random things but not when everyone can hear about it.

"Oooh, scrumptious food. I'm actually jealous," he chuckled. "Bring some home! When are you leaving?"

"I leave Friday morning and I'll be back Sunday morning," Quinn answered, unknowingly smiling at the fact that Sam seemed to want to know where she is. "What are you up to this weekend?"

Sam debated whether or not he should tell Quinn about the formal this Saturday. The formal he's taking Cali with. He should be honest to her and he knows that but he can't help but feel like he needs to not let Quinn know everything. It's not like they were committed.

"Umm… There's this formal party for the scholarship applicants. So I guess I gotta do my thing that night," he replied back, wishing that Quinn wouldn't ask any more.

"Oh, okay. Good luck then," Quinn sincerely said as she smiled. "Am I seeing you this week or not?"

"Maybe, I'm not sure," he told her. "I'm still not done with my presentation. I'll let you know though, okay?" Pause. She wasn't answering him. "I really don't want to feel you neglected if you're here and I'm doing school stuff, Q."

She tried not to show disappointment and she doesn't care at the moment that she feels like she's the guy in their complicated relationship, so she said "Yeah, okay. Well, I'll let you go get some rest. I miss you."

"I miss you too, Quinn. Sweet dreams."

* * *

><p>Friday came by quickly and they hadn't seen each other much except when Sam dropped by the Cafe to have lunch with her and when Quinn gave him back the thumb drive he left at the cafe when he did some of his projects. Quinn called Sam early to wish him a good luck and to talk clearly and to stop fidgeting when he's in front of the panel. Quinn was packing for her New Jersey trip. She was excited to go to Jersey with some of her college friends and take some time away from school, see new places and get things off her mind but sad at the same time because she will miss Sam.<p>

Saturday morning quickly rolled and she got a message from Sam to stay safe and to call when she gets there. She called a bit later to ask what happened during his presentation as he texted the night before that he's so nervous he just want to sleep it all off and forget it. Sam said he did fine, he thinks but that he might've rambled a lot more than he should have. Quinn comforted him, saying that it's all going to be alright and that he will get a scholarship soon. She also said to behave at the formal so he doesn't break out into a Justin Bieber song or whatever, which they laughed about. They said their goodbyes as Quinn rode the bus that will take them to New Jersey. Along the way, they exchanged quick texts, more so initiated by Quinn because Sam was preparing all his things for the formal. They were quirky, sweet nothings. She knew how simple quotes or appreciation revved life into Sam and into his works. It was like fuel for the guy and verbal support was what he needed and Quinn was there to provide it for him.

Sam got ready for the formal. The email said to wear something semi-formal, professional but laid back. He settled for a fitted dark grey casual suit jacket with black shawl lapel that he got at the thrift store the other day. Some fitted black semi formal jeans, his newly polished black shoes, a white long sleeved polo and he left the three top buttons popped open. He had his hair cut last week and he looks really fine, as Quinn put it. He may have been poor but that doesn't mean he sucks at fashion.

With wallet filled with his business cards tucked at his back pocket, he set off to pick Cali up. He was glad he and Cali are in good terms now. In fact, she's been casually seeing this guy that approached Sam the other week at school if he can be cleared. He seemed nice so Sam introduced the two. They might not be together anymore but Sam still cared about Cali and he wasn't letting some douche take her out.

They were taking Cali's car seeing as Sam had none and Sam offered to pay for gas.

"So how are you and Quinn?" She asks at a stoplight. He was surprised Cali brought it up. He looked at her incredulously. "Come on, Sam. It's obvious you still like her." She mumbled.

"I don't think this is a topic we can casually talk about, Cal," he replied, trying to ease his words without hurting the brunette. "I mean, with our past, it's kind of… I don't know… wrong?"

"What? I'm fine talking about it but if you're not then I guess it's okay. It's not really my business but I'm trying a good friendship between us here," she replied calmly as the light turned green and Sam switched gears to drive.

"If you say so. We're okay, Quinn and I. We're good. Nothing complicated at the moment," he knew how Cali liked things straight to the point.

"Do you need help getting her back?" Cali asked straightforwardly.

"What? No. It's actually all me. I asked if we couldn't be committed," he replied, looking straight at the road while trying to brush off the awkward.

"Oh my gosh. That's actually offensive, you know. For some girls they are," she answered him.

"Well, like I told you. It's complicated. I need to trust her back if I'm going full circle with her again. No way am I letting myself go so far for her again," Sam said a moment later. "It's hard."

"Did you do something drastic back then that made you like that?" Cali asked quietly, intriguingly.

"Yes," he whispered. "I gave her a promise ring."

With that new information, Cali stood there stunned. Here she thought Sam only liked Quinn back. She never knew how far he went with her. "Wow," she said. It was quiet for a while until she spoke again. "Sam," she said as he pulled into a parking spot. "I just want you to know, I'll always be here for you." He looked at her, recognizing that tone Cali used so often to him in the past. That sweet, loving and caring tone he liked about her. "Nothing's changed." With that, she opened the door and got out of the car and all Sam could think about was if what he was doing was right.

* * *

><p>"San, are you sure Q and Sam are dating?" Brittany asked that midnight over the phone. Quinn was now resting at Santana's place after quite a day at the convention.<p>

"Not really, Britt. They can still see other people," Santana confirmed to her girlfriend while flipping through the food Quinn came home with. "Why?"

"Well, you know how we're serving the booze at that formal tonight, right?" Britt asked and Santana mumbled a yeah. "Well, I just saw Sam and that chick he used to date. I thought he was cheating on Q and you know I love Q and I will kick some serious butt if he does that. They were all lovey dovey around the important looking guys and all. Thanks for clearing that up for me!" She said excitedly, so fast that Santana barely had time to process it.

"Oh… okay." _That trouty mouth is going to get it._ "How lovey dovey?" She added to her girlfriend.

"Well she kept pecking his cheek and I swear he groped her ass when they were getting some drinks at the bar. They're talking and laughing... Or flirting. I'm not sure, San," the blonde told her sadly.

"Oh... It's okay, B. Listen, I have to go finish some articles, okay? I love you. Stay safe." The two lovers hung up and Santana dialed Sam's number.

"Santana? Is Q alright?" he answered after a few rings, knowing that Quinn stayed the night at the Latina's place. Santana mumbled a yes. "Good, but I can't talk right now, I'm at a formal that-"

"Save it, Evans. Let me just get this to you straight, okay?" the feisty Latina snapped back. She has her bitchy moments with her own friends but that doesn't mean she will let any guy step on any of her friends – Rachel Berry included. "You know Q and you know me. I go bad, she goes worse and you'll actually want to never have feelings ever again. You do not make a fool of Quinn Fabray and easily get away with it. Either get your shit together or let it all go and save us all the fucking drama." With that, she hung up on him.

* * *

><p>It's like the days just go by here and there and now Quinn's boarding the school bus back to New York. The ride back to New York took almost 2 hours and they had to head back to the school to sign forms that they got back safe. After doing so, Quinn immediately hopped on a subway to surprise Sam. She thought about bringing him something to eat but decided against it and wanted to invite him for some lunch.<p>

She rang the doorbell only for Cali, dressed in tank tops and some booty shorts, open the door for her. This stunned Quinn. _What the- Should I leave?_

"Oh, hey Quinn!" The other girl greeted her. She seemed like she just woke up and with a bed hair to boot.

"Hey Cal, who's at the-" Sam suddenly appeared behind Cali, full smile and he's just in his boxers and wife beater and he seemed like he had his sex hair full on. "Quinn! You're back!" He exclaimed while she can't help but notice the sincerity of Sam's smile she also can't help notice that small, faltering frown that flashed his face. She fidgeted at the front steps and so Cali broke the ice.

"Oh um… I gotta go," Cali said, taking a long coat from the rack, throwing it on her and pushing past Quinn and all the awkward air enveloping the two blondes.

Tears were starting to form in Quinn's eyes but she held them back, wanting to straight things out. "I never thought not being exclusive would hurt this much but I guess I was wrong," she said in a strong voice. She turned around, stepping forward to leave Sam's place and cry to herself or to Santana or to Brittany and wait for them to say "I told you so," mostly from the Latina but Sam quickly grabbed her elbow and pulled her inside. He didn't want anyone seeing his girl cry in front of his place. They may not be committed but Quinn is still his, somehow.

He enveloped the girl into a tight hug, smelling her coconut-scented hair in the process. "Quinn, please let me explain," he mumbled but she just pushed her away. She once again headed for the door but Sam beat her to it. "Quinn, please…" By now, Quinn couldn't stop her tears from falling; she kept shaking her head, not wanting to listen to Sam any further. It felt like she was back in junior year and Sam left her again. It was felt like she was neglected again and now karma's hitting her in the face again. "Q? Please talk to me," he pleaded, trying to get her to look at his eyes, trying to find the beauty in her eyes that captured his heart, to look at him and hear him out.

"I can't," she stuttered, shaking her head again. "I need to go." She fought through his barricading arm and pushed past him, slamming the door in his face in the process. Sam felt hot tears fall as he let his forehead drop at the door thinking how he screwed things up.

* * *

><p>Santana showed up at his doorstep that night with a slap that seemed to be from New Jersey all the way to New York.<p>

"What did I tell you? Huh? I told you not to mess with Quinn, right? And you know what? Now, she's all kinds of hurt, you've caused it and you know. She's doing an effort on you, Sam. Something she has never done for anyone before and that means you mean a shit load to her. She never goes out of her acting like a dude just to get herself a boyfriend. She's Quinn fucking Fabray, for Pete's sake! People parted like the red sea for her. I don't fucking know what she sees in you but you know how she feels about you. She may have fucked you over once but that doesn't give you the right to do the same to her. I actually thought you were different from all the idiots she dated. I guess I was wrong," the Latina snarkily said to her, not allowing him to talk and he almost thinks he couldn't because his cheek stung from her slap. "Also, I'm warning you to stay away from her for now. It's gonna be an ugly relationship. This is just from me. She doesn't know I'm here. Just leave her alone. She's vulnerable enough without you." She turned on her heel before Sam called back to her.

"She hurt me just the same but she did it on purpose, Santana," he said loud enough for her to hear and for her to turn back to him.

"That was ages ago and I thought you could be mature enough not to do the same thing," Santana said, shaking her head. "And just by saying what you wanted to say, you can't explain anything anymore to Quinn without her feeling like she's not enough. You, of all people, to make her feel like that again? Low blow, Evans."

"She still cheated on me," he pressed, jaw clenching.

"That's not even the point, Sam! Go, how stupid can you be?" Santana exclaimed, almost wanting to go Lima Heights on him. "All she did then was kiss Finn, you slept with your ex!" Sam was about to deny it, to try and bring back some solid side to him but he knows it's no use. "And don't even try to deny it. I can smell sex on you right now like you haven't even taken a shower. Gross, by the way."

He looked at her, stunned with what Santana's saying, stunned with how right she is. His head dropped down in shame, "I screwed up. I pushed this trust crap so bad."

"Damn, right. Now stay away from Q or you'll land another red cheek on the other side of your unshaven face," Santana turned again from the blonde and left.

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><p>The next morning, Sam headed early to Quinn's place, wanting to fix this fight. <em>What<em> _am I even doing? We're not even exclusive!_

He knocked on the door a puffy-eyed Quinn opened the door to her, tissues in one hand. "Go away," she mumbled, shutting the door but Sam's foot caught it.

"Quinn, please. Let me explain," he pleaded, trying to make her listen. "I'm so sorry."

"You've nothing to apologize for. We weren't together," she said quietly, bitterly. "Just go." She shut the door once again and this time, Sam didn't put up a fight. He pulled the trust card and now it was slicing him in the face. He had to do something about it.

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><p><strong>AN: Read and review! Let's try 35 reviews? Can I have that? Sorry for the long wait by the way. School got in the way (it always gets in the way) and being a major student right now is just eating away my time.**


	6. Chapter 6

Sam's life has turned around in such a short time. He had no idea he still held feelings for Quinn that was so strong it drove him to the edge.

_We weren't together._

It echoed in his mind every time his lips touched a can of beer and it's been echoing on repeat since she said that. It's like back in high school, only then, she said that nothing was going on between them. Sam wasn't entirely slow on emotions. He picked up easily but on the range of intensity, not so much. He missed her random text messages, her random morning breakfasts – everything. Yes, he knows he still likes Quinn, he still has feelings for her and that he still wants to be with her but his fear of getting hurt again got in the way of that. It was crazy how things turned around so suddenly. At first, it was Quinn, wanting him back in her life, chasing him, doing things for him just to gain his trust back and he idiotically made a mistake that now resulted in him losing her and everything Quinn tried to prove to him just vanish.

Thursday night, nearly a week after their fight, he was on his twelfth Henny when a knock stirred him back to earth. He was about to flop over some of his packaging project when the sound jolted him to life. He groaned from where he was sitting – on the floor – and stumbled to the door. Sam opened it to two Asians, two of his close Asian friends – Mike and Tina.

"Heyyyy!" He drunkenly greeted Mike, who immediately took hold of Sam before he fumbled over him and Tina. It was supposed to be a bro hug but given Sam's state, he couldn't really give him a bro hug.

"Hey buddy," Mike said, assisting Sam to the couch as Tina closed the door. Sam reached for his drink when Mike pulled it away from him. "I think that's enough, bud. Let's get you back to the land of the sober." Sam groaned inwardly, feeling sleep slip through him.

"Well this situation must be so fucked up his apartment looks the part," Tina comments, looking around Sam's trashed place. There were magazines everywhere, beer cans and bottles, papers and pencils everywhere and his iPod playing in the background.

"Yeah well, it's just past nine and he's drunk as crazy," Mike said, standing up from the couch. "We'll talk to him tomorrow when he's sober. Tell Quinn we've got him."

"Quinn?" A drunken Sam voiced up. "Quinn…" And he fell back to sleep again. Mike moved over to him to get him up.

"Okay, bud. Let's get you to bed. We'll talk tomorrow," Mike said as he threw Sam's arm around his neck to walk him upstairs to his bedroom. "Please clean up a bit." He added to his girlfriend. "I'll bring down some pillows and blankets for us."

* * *

><p>The next morning, Sam literally rolled out of bed. He fell onto the floor quite loudly, completely waking him up with a glorious headache. He closed his eyes, willing for the sunshine to get away from his eyes but it was of no use. The door suddenly swings open, revealing Tina and a cup of water and some aspirin.<p>

"I knew you fell off your bed again," the girl comments as Sam sits up on the floor and lean his head on his bed. He always fell off the bed when he's drunk. "Here's something to take your hangover off. When you're okay, come down." She set the drink and pill on to his bedside and patted Sam's shoulder before leaving the blonde's room.

A couple of minutes later, he drank the aspirin and waited for a while before heading downstairs. He barely remembers the previous night but Mike and Tina on his doorstep then it was like a complete blackout. He let out an audible groan, which alerted the Asians of his presence. He stood there on the bottom of the staircase, leaning on it for support as the he looked at them. Sam definitely looked like a mess much like his apartment the night before the preceding days before that night at Quinn's place. He had a bed head, wore a Spongebob boxers and his white shirt was all wrinkly.

"Well good morning to you to, Sam," Mike chuckled and motioned for him to eat some breakfast with them. It was nearly 8 in the morning.

"It's so early," he slowly walked towards them, noticing the beddings on the couch and on the floor. "They didn't like, have sex on the floor of my living room, right?" He thought, or so he thought it was in his head.

"Oh no man," Mike replied, laughing along with Tina.

"Oh shit, I said that out loud?" The two nodded, chuckling as Tina grabbed a mug for him. Sam sat beside Mike, his forehead on resting on his palm. "I must be so screwed up. My head's kind of killing me."

"Well with the amount of beer cans Tina cleaned up last night, I'd say you're trashed."

"I'm sorry, I've been a lousy visitee… or something you call the people you visit," Sam sadly said from his position. "So, I'm guessing you heard what happened?"

"Yeah, Santana told us," Tina said, her voice in that neutral position. She wasn't one to take sides until she knows the story. "What really happened? I'm sure Santana changed up a few things in her story."

"I just really screwed things up. One minute we were fine, told her we'd take things slow because we had past issues to resolve. Next minute, she's in Jersey and I took my ex to my scholarship formal and everything escalated from there."

"Oh, so I guess San didn't exaggerate them," Tina replied thoughtfully.

"You probably think I'm such an ass now," Sam muttered from behind his mug of coffee before taking a sip. "I know I think so."

"You bet," Mike confirmed, Sam nodded ruefully. "But that doesn't mean I hate you for hurting Quinn. I mean, Q and I are practically god siblings or something but I'm just disappointed at what you did not on what you are."

"Yeah, and I know you Sam. You're a nice guy," Tina shared, hoping to ease some sense of comfort to Sam's thinking of his self. "I know you never meant to hurt Q… It's just, we can't take sides on this."

"Will you…" Sam started to word out what he wants to say. "I mean if you guys are free… Will you help me get her back?"

That question earned two smiles from the Asians in front of Sam.

* * *

><p>"Have you seen Cali?" Sam asked one of his friends after his Motion Graphics class, his last one for the day. The guys answered something along the lines of seeing her this morning on her way to the library.<p>

He headed out to seek her before he went to work, which wasn't in 3 hours. Tina and Mike were crashing his apartment since those who weren't graduating had the week off before their finals come May.

He found her slouched over a giant blueprint and rulers and T-squares. "Hey," he softly said as he approached her. She beamed at him before continuing to draw over her plan.

"So I need to ask you something," she nodded at him to continue. "What happened last week? I was so trashed and I had no idea what really happened except that something happened between us."

"Basically, we went to your formal, had too much fun at the bar and stumbled back to your place," she whispered back to him while calculating some measurements. "Shane dropped us off to your place with my car and he took off for his fight club. That's all I know."

"Oh well… That doesn't… You know… Like constitute us… Getting back together, does it?" Sam asked, clearly clueless. "Because… Well, you know why." He finished, hoping to not talk about Quinn with his ex.

"Yeah, I know. It was a hookup," she sternly said. "Can you please go now? I have to finish this in an hour." He was taken aback because Cali was usually nice to him but whatever. He was overly familiar with the stress Cali was in about deadlines and not being creative enough. Sam nodded at her and left her. He had to walk through another building to get out of the streets of New York. He went off one of the men's room to do his business. As the stall closed, he heard footsteps and voices as the door slammed.

"… I heard from some dude in my Typo class that she slipped something on his drink during the formal." One voice said.

"Seriously?" The other voice, this time deeper than the first one, asked. "Oh damn, must be in desperate need, that girl."

"Get this. Her best friend, that Emma girl Josh has been stalking for some time now," Sam's head looked up at blank wall in front of him. He knew an Emma who was being taken out by some dude named Josh, the Emma who slapped him and the same Emma who is Cali's bestfriend. "Told Josh it was legit. I mean, if she wanted a fuck buddy she could've given me a call!" The two guys chuckled.

"It wasn't all rumors then?" The other guy asked, as faucets were turned open. Sam almost misaimed his pee on the bowl when it seemed like it was Cali's bestfriend they're talking about. He finished his business but decided to eavesdrop more as he closed up his fly.

"Nope. Man, I don't know what he sees in that Sam dude but he's probably really nice or something," the other guy said. Sam almost tumbled over the toilet before he heard doors slamming shut. He peeked and saw that it was safe to go out.

All he could think of was,_ 'how the fuck can Cali do that to me?'_

* * *

><p>He stormed over Emma and Cali's place after work that day, knocking loudly over the oak door. Emma opened the door to him. "Hey Sam," she smiled at him. It seems like she's forgiven him for hurting Cali. "Cal's not home yet. She had to finish some prints. Do you wanna wait for her?"<p>

"No, actually I came to talk to you," Sam said, his voice low but strong. It delivered some sort of fear in Emma. The girl just nodded at him, allowing him to continue.

"Do you wanna come in?" Emma asked, motioning inside. Sam shook his head no.

"This will just be quick," Sam offered, gathering thoughts in his head. "Did you know there was a rumor spreading around about Cali slipping me some pill at the formal?"

Emma looked stunned. She was not sure whether it was her business to tell Sam or if she should just come clean. Her silence gave Sam the answer. "So that's why I felt like I passed out the next day! How could Cali even do that?" He stormed off. He's not entirely at fault with his fight with Quinn. Sam could salvage his relationship with Quinn.

Sam didn't bother looking for Cali. He doesn't need her anymore. Sam felt betrayed. He trusted Cali to be okay with everything after how honest he has been to her about Quinn. It was screwed up but he didn't give a shit anymore. Nobody messes with his personal business but him.

* * *

><p>After recollecting his thoughts, trying to think of reasonable reasons as to why his ex could do that to him, he gave up. Nothing would be reasonable about that night. He called Tina to get her to tell him where Quinn lived now. Tina said she'd ask Santana but wasn't sure if Santana would give it to her.<p>

_**Tina: San said that Q's with Britt at the club. Meet us there though. It's Friday night. You're actually lucky San told me where we could find Q. She had no idea we were with you.**_

Sam headed home quickly. It was around 10 before he was completely dressed to impress. Fitted jeans on, Vans slip-ons on, v-neck shirt on and a polo shirt thrown on his body, he left for the club, texting Mike that he's headed there. He went inside and spotted the two easily, sipping drinks with Brittany at the VIP booth. Sam walked up to them as Brittany motioned for the bouncers to let Sam in with them. He sat with his three friends.

They talked for a while before he saw a flash of blonde hair dancing on the floor with some scruffy looking dude who looked as if he wanted to feel her up. Quinn was either unaware or did not give all kinds of fuck. She was just dancing around the place. His heart hammered at the sight and wanted to pounce on the guy. It shot some sort of energy in his body just seeing Quinn all looking like a fine, hot mess but the guy was pissing him off.

Sam shot off from his seat, pushing past Mike and the bouncer and towards Quinn. He pulled the guys hand off of Quinn's butt, "Get away from her man." Quinn turned around, shocked at how Sam looked. He was enraged all over, like he wanted to kill.

"Fuck off blondie," and dragged Quinn to one side.

"I mean it. Get away from her," Sam said sternly, pulling the guy's shoulder back.

"Is this your boyfriend?" The guy, obviously a little to early to be drunk, asked Quinn who shook her head no. She bit her lip, quite turned on at Sam's protectiveness. However, her angry feelings for the blonde bubbled over the surface.

She looked at Sam, who looked quite hurt but was holding a strong face on, "No, let's go."

"Quinn!" Sam had let her name fall of his lips, grabbing her hand in the process. He pleaded with his eyes to not come with the guy. "Please, come on," he whispered among the noise but Quinn seemed to still hear him.

"She said no, whacko, so fuck off," the guy interrupted, pushing Sam's shoulder a little too hard, causing Sam to knock on some people on the dance floor.

"What the fuck!" Sam muttered under his breath as the dancing pair took off again. He looked up at them and he was pretty sure Quinn looked back down on him with worry in her eyes pretty quickly but turned away. He stood up and walked over to their retreating backs, Sam pulling the guy's arm and sending a good fist to his face. Everyone was in shock when the drunken dude slammed on to the floor, creating a circle around the two.

"Sam!" Quinn reacted, fear, anger and worry etched in her voice. Sam looked at her, her eyes melting his insides like he was a little boy with a puppy love. The guy took that small moment to sweep Sam off his feet with his arms. Sam toppled over, his head banging on to the floor as the guy swung to his left. Sam elbowed his face and kicked him off of him. Quinn went off to help Sam up, her hand gripping his arm but Mike and some bouncers separated the arguing guys immediately, throwing them out of the club.

* * *

><p><em>This is bullshit. I didn't even drink anything yet and I'm just kicked out of the place! <em>Sam thought as he stood outside the entrance of the club. "Don't I get some sort of special shit in here? I know Britt!" He told the bouncers as Mike stood by him, backing him up. The drunken guy was now walking warily away from the club, holding his face up in his hands. Sam touched the back of his head. He could foresee a lump in there by tomorrow and possibly a bruise on his left eye. The bouncers went in and got Brittany out to him.

"Britt," Sam said, exhausted at the events. "Please, you gotta let me talk to Quinn." He pleaded to the blonde.

"I was given strict instructions not to let you in contact with her," Britt said apologetically. "You're lucky I let you go to her tonight, Sam. I'm not taking any sides in this."

"But Britt, just let me back in. I'll go talk to her!" Sam pleaded once more, holding on to Britt's shoulders. "She needs to know the truth, please."

"San's orders, Sam. Can't let my girlfriend down," Brittany said, smiling weakly at him. "She needs time, okay? Q is hurt and when she's ready to talk, you'll be the first to know. I'll tell you as soon as she's okay. I can let you back in, but no talking to Q. I doubt she's still here though. I think she took off when you were thrown out." Sam nodded in understanding. Brittany turned to the bouncers and gave them a vocal list who had special access to the club – mainly her friends.

"I'll just go," Sam said, fiddling with his pocket. "Thanks Britt. Mike, I'll head home. Tell Tina thanks." He turned around to walk back to his place, needing the cool New York air to calm his senses. He was about to turn to one corner when he saw Quinn's car shoot past him. He caught a glimpse of the plate number and was pretty sure it was Quinn's car.

Sam jumped to the curb immediately, flagging a cab down. He went inside one when an empty cab stopped by him. "Follow that mini!" He said, smiling at the thought of always wanting to say that phrase like he was in some sort of action movie.

"You sure?" The driver asked him, eyeing him suspiciously.

"I need to win my girl back, okay?" Sam cleared his intentions. The driver followed Quinn's car as Sam smiled at the thought of calling Quinn his girl.

A couple of minutes later, the cab stopped. Quinn's car made a turn to a parking area. "This is good," Sam said. "Stop. Here's extra." Sam paid the cab and stopped at one corner. He waited for Quinn to get out of the car. He debated whether or not he'd follow her inside because he didn't want to freak her out.

He'll have to wait for things to settle down. For the recent events to clear out and for his bruise to possibly heal. For his nerves to calm down because Quinn fucking gripped his arm and it still felt as if her hand was still in contact with his arm. It was surreal how the simple things made him miss Quinn.

He wanted to be able to be in close proximity with her again, to be able to hug her and inhale her coconut-scented hair, to feel her soft hands against his rough, manly ones, to hear her angelic voice say Sam. He needed for her to call him his guy again, for her to feel and know how sorry he is for taking things too far, for her to forgive him and his crap, for her to show up at his place with breakfast, for her to feel what he could give her and make her feel.

But not now.

He respected Quinn and decided to give her the space and time she needed. She deserves it and right now, Sam is just happy he now knew where Quinn is living.

* * *

><p>Quinn opened the door to the apartment that she now shared with Brittany. She didn't care that is was farther from her school than her old one. She just didn't need Sam showing up at his place and living with Brittany was only out of the question because of the travel time. The idea seemed to look good for her when her roommate moved out and she needed a new space to live at as well.<p>

She sent a text to Brittany, apologizing for leaving when what happened just happened. It frustrated her how she desperately missed Sam but she was still hurt about what she saw the past week. She shook her head at the thought. She's going to take all the time in the world to forget Sam. Quinn walked over to her room and shut the door. She contemplated on going over Sam's Facebook page when she checked her social networks. She finally clicked Sam's picture, something that was probably taken with Instagram. It was a close up of him from an angle on his left, drinking from a coffee cup take out.

Sam's most recent status (updated like 10 minutes ago) said, "What a shitty ass night." She saw it was connected to his Twitter account but decided against clicking it. After all, she was supposed to be moving on.

Quinn sighed, shutting her laptop off and down and lying down on her bed. _Do I really want to forget him? I miss him. I don't know how screwed up this trust crap is. Karma's just being a bitch to me. Is this how he felt when I cheated on him? It hurts so bad. I thought I could trust him! Why does shit like this always happen to me? _Her thoughts were interrupted by a ringing of her phone. She fumbled over her purse and blindly felt for her phone.

Santana, it said. She tapped the screen to answer her bestfriend's call.

"Yes?" Quinn answered, knowing that Brittany already gave the Latina the details of the night.

"I heard guys fought over you tonight," Santana smirked. Quinn rolled her eyes and confirmed it. "Well, you can always just pick Sam…"

"How did we go from you getting all Lima Heights on Sam when I told you what happened last week to you taking his side now?" Quinn spat out, frustrated and enraged, her thoughts still consuming half of her.

"Chill out, woman. All I'm saying is, don't beat up yourself about it. Make him see that he wasn't a loss to you," Santana offered.

"Well news flash, S. I sort of, kind of dumped him. He should be the one doing that," Quinn said after some thought. It was partly true. Sam was the dumpee, therefore he should be the bitter one.

"Oh come on, Q. Don't act like you're okay with all these things going on between you and Trouty Mouth," Quinn smiled sadly upon hearing the Latina's nickname for Sam. "I know you're trying to move on but it's just been a week. It doesn't go away that easily. Fact of the matter is, it might not even go away for a good while because news flash, Q, you still have feelings for him even after all these years." Santana ended her somewhat speech, waiting for Quinn to react to anything.

"I just want nothing more to do with him," Quinn quietly replied after some time. "He's not the only guy in the world."

"Are you really going to just let him go?" Santana asked. She wanted to insert humor into this serious conversation but with Quinn's cold tone, she figured that the blonde had some kind of a night to just poke fun out of her situation.

"I guess."

* * *

><p>Santana called Sam an hour later.<p>

"Listen up, Sammy. I tried to convince her, but it'll take some time. She's being stubborn right now," Santana said. Sam nodded on the phone as if she can see him.

"Thanks for believing me," Sam replied as he lied down his bed. "I thought you wouldn't."

"At first, I really didn't believe your whole pill crap story," the Latina cleared. "But, I have some really great connections over there from the club who knew your desperate ex and I called a couple of them before calling Quinn like you begged me too."

"Still, thanks," he replied, wondering who these contacts were but he knows it's none of his business. He's certainly losing hope.

"Sam, I know how much you like Quinn," she wasn't good with talking to guys about emotions but she tried, especially when people in her life are involved. "But give her some time. I'm a bitch but she's loads bitchier than I am."

"Will you help me?" Sam asked quite quickly, not wanting to just let it all go.

Santana was quiet for a while before answering, "I'm not promising you anything. No guarantees."

"Trying is better than nothing," Sam concluded.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: So sorry for the delay! My exams just ended today. Also, this was just a little filler. I'll have some romance stuff next chapter. Review please? Also, reach out to me on my Twitter if you want to fan girl over Fabrevans/Overgron or just want to be friends with me. I tweet a lot.**


	7. Chapter 7

Days after the club incident, Quinn has been thinking about Sam. She's tried forgetting him but she knows it's never going to happen. It's not even close to happening at all. Sighing, she shifted around some cups, waiting for customers to arrive. There weren't too many people and the 9 o'clock night felt dull and so un-New York-like. She's lucky enough her boss likes her and allowed her to change schedule shifts in an instant. At the clatter of the bell hung above the door, she spins around to face the customer that bolted her out of her state, fake happy smile plastered on and ready to serve. Her smile falters at the sight of the blonde boy who's been taking over her mind for the past couple of months. Not letting him catch her fazed, she lets her smile grow back on.

_You gotta be fucking kidding me. How do I talk to him!_ She thought, her mind debating over as if there were two brains inside her head.

_Just say hi and sell coffee like you do with any other customers. And for fuck's sake Q, ignore his arms. I know it's glorious but no._

_I can't just ignore his arms!_

_Well missy, you have to if you want to get over him._

_Is it bad that I want to talk to him right now?_

_Screw you. You want to jump on him._

_I do not! I just… Okay, I admit I miss him and all but I don't want to jump on him._

_We share the same thoughts, Quinn. Same head, same brain._

_Damn you. _

_Well how do I-_

"Ehem," he stood in front of her, tilting his head a bit. The sound interrupted her debating thoughts and sent her back to reality.

"Hi, welcome to Paperbacks and Beans!" She greeted from behind the counter as she once again put a happy face on. Sam smiled at her, sending that gelatinous feeling over her legs.

"Hi Q," Sam greeted and she knows he was trying to dispense the awkward air around them but failing miserably. She knows in an instant when Sam was nervous. Quinn was bothered by why Sam's nervous when he was pretty sure he'd know she would be working here. _Oh wait, it's because he doesn't know I shifted schedules! This is probably unexpected for him too!_

Quinn waited for Sam to get his order on. He looked above at the choices and can't seem to make up his mind. She knows what he wants but her being so forward about it isn't exactly going to help the situation. She silently wished her co-worker was here over the counter and she just bussed the tables or that her co-worker just appeared beside her out-of-the-blue. Quinn tapped her fingers over the counter, deciding whether or not to offer their famous drink because it's generic or offer him the drink he always ordered because it'd be obvious.

Sam wasn't really paying attention to the menu, instead, he was waiting for Quinn to automatically get him his favorite but it's not like they're dating for her to do that. So he looked back at her, her hazel eyes never failing to mesmerize him. "Um… so I'll have a tall dirty white mocha, extra foam and a cream cheese bagel," Quinn started to punch in his orders even before he finished talking. "And some time with you after your shift." That completely threw Quinn out of the loop. She looked up at him, blush creeping up his ears and with the clear ambiance the coffee shop had, it's very clear she's also turning red.

Eyes blinking rapidly and disbelief etched in her face, she managed to stutter out, "Excuse me?" Sam didn't hurry in paying his order to buy more time for him and Quinn.

"Please Q," Sam whispered loud enough for just the two of them. "Please hear me out." With his serious and somewhat desperate eyes, Quinn struggled to look away from them. She licked her lips and totaled his order.

"That's $8.75," she purposely ignored his plea. "Anything else?" She added without looking up at him.

"Yes, please. Just an hour with you. Please hear me out, Q," Sam pleaded again. Quinn's co-worker shuffled beside her and interrupted them.

"Hi sir, would you like anything else?" Sam, whose eyes were glued to Quinn, didn't hear the girl beside Quinn. Instead, he grabbed Quinn's hand.

"Q, just one hour and I'll leave you alone if you want," he said with pure sincerity in his voice that Quinn heard. His eyes still pierced at the blonde in front of her.

Slowly, she pulled her hand out of his grasp, shaking her head in the process. She bit her lip and turned around, leaving Sam to look at her retreating figure helplessly from in front the counter as she went to the back room. The girl beside Quinn took over.

"You're that Sam dude then?" The girl confirmed and he nodded. "Her shift ends in half an hour. I don't know exactly what happened between you two, but I'm sensing you're about to make a fool of yourself and I'm not going to stop you. Quinn's amazing, okay? I don't know if she'll talk to you or whatever, but don't hurt her again. It's bad for business." The girl added for a little humor. Sam nodded and waited for his order that he had to-go.

Once he got his order, he stepped out of the café and sat down the bench across it. He wanted to wait for Quinn. Sam had to admit, seeing Quinn almost made him lose his composure. It just so happened that half his body denied that incoming failure. Truth is, he found out when her shift is when a friend of his who he was working on with a project asked if he wanted from the coffee shop before he headed over to meet with him. Sam then asked if Quinn was there by showing him a picture and his friend nodded positive. That's how he ended up showing up at the coffee shop.

Sam waited for a while. He didn't want to lose this opportunity and given his free schedule for the next couple of days, he needed to make the most of it. He finished his drink and played on his phone for a while, waiting for that resounding bell of the coffee shop's door. Nearly an hour later and him almost falling asleep, he was woken by the clattering of the door and a blonde figure emerging out of the doorway. He stood up and walked across the street and towards Quinn who started her way home. Her car was nowhere in sight and she couldn't let Quinn commute him without no bastards hitting on her.

"Q," he said as he caught up to her. She kept walking. "Q, please," he said, gently grabbing her arm as they rounded the corner. Quinn turned to him, eyes glistening and waiting for Sam. She was giving him the time she thought he didn't deserve but it's not like she can just blow him off. Quinn jerked her head and sighed, signifying that he could talk to her. "Thank you," he whispered as they started walking again. He figured Quinn didn't want him to know where she now lived because Quinn took another turn towards the small park.

They walked around the place for a while, looking for a bench to sit down on. Once they found a decent spot where no one could interfere, they sat in silence. "If you're not gonna talk, I think we're both just wasting our time," Quinn muttered loud enough, her voice raspy.

"I'm sorry," he blurted out. He had his arms on top of his legs and his head buried in his hands. Silence again. Nothing but the mocking silence of the park enveloped them. Not too many crazy cab drivers honking their asses off to piss them. Quinn turned away from away. Seeing Sam so helpless and so nervous did not do her any good. In fact, it made her weaker.

Sam looked up from his position and sat up and turned to Quinn. He gently held her arm but Quinn tried to pull away. It's crazy how with just a touch, it sent butterflies in her stomach. Sam didn't want to lose a hold of Quinn and Quinn sat there limp. He kissed her knuckles and for some reason, she sat there, tears flowing down her eyes. She couldn't look up at him and let him see her tears because she knew how he'd react. However, she couldn't stop nature and a small squeak form her made Sam take a peek at her and in a quick seconds, he enveloped her in his arms. The weather was unpredictable that day and the wind was now blowing around them and her hair revealed her tears even more. She wanted to push Sam away, tell him it's not okay, nothing's okay and that he can't do that. "I'm sorry," he whispered near her ear as he hugged her against his chest. "For everything." She attempted to push Sam away, hating his words because she didn't know the meaning of the word anymore. She's heard too many pitiful apologies in her life that it lost its meaning to her. "I know you hate that word," Sam muttered, knowing exactly what was going through Quinn's pretty blonde head. "But I really am. I hope you'll listen to me."

Quinn choked back a sob but doing so made her sob even more. Her hands, limp at her sides, Sam took the initiative to make her hug him back. He took one of her arm and looped them around his body and Quinn followed on her own. Resting her head on the crook of his neck after a couple of minutes, her tears approaching a full stop, Sam wondered how he ended up so desperate to talk to her to them sort of cuddling at the park. He wasn't complaining because the girl hugged tightly against his chest was the girl he'd been missing. It felt like a hole in his everyday without seeing her or hearing her voice, he felt somewhat empty and lately, all his works have been sucking. A ringing brought them back to reality. Quinn startled, she pulled away from him and fumbled for her purse to stop the ringing. He looked at her looking for her phone, taking in her appearance and missing the warmth of her embrace. They fit perfectly if he said so himself.

Finally, she saw her phone and answered it. "Britt?" They talked for a bit until she hung up and stood up. "I need to go home."

"Let me take you home," Sam offered, standing up and touching her arm.

"It's fine. I'm sorry you never got the chance to actually talk," she said in that sad raspy voice he missed so much. "I bawled like a baby and-"

"Hey," he interrupted her from rambling, something she tended to do when she was out of focus. She looked down at their feet but Sam put his hand up her chin to make her look at him. _Well damn, those eyes. _"It's fine. We can talk on the way," he almost forgot to talk when he saw those hazel orbs look back at her. He took out a handkerchief and wiped her tear stained eyes.

She nodded and they headed out. She was only a few blocks away and they silently decided to just walk on the way home. They were quiet but after some time, Sam held her hand. He was afraid she's going to pull away but to her surprise, she squeezed back, assuring him that it's okay. Sam looked at her with question in his eyes but a smile on his face to which Quinn replied with a small smile.

"So… I need to tell you something," Sam started to say but Quinn interrupted him.

"Santana told me everything," she whispered, as she looked straight on their way, not wanting to meet his eyes. He stopped at their tracks, pulling Quinn in the process towards him.

"What?" Sam said. He had to know why Santana blabbered about this to Quinn. He strictly told her he was going to come clean to Quinn about the whole incident. "I told her not-"

"Yes and she did a very good job telling me off to wait for you," Quinn assured the blonde boy and getting her best friend out of this mess at the same time. "But I'm Quinn." That seemed to answer everything because Quinn was pulling him away again so they can resume walking back home.

"I wanted to tell you everything by myself," Sam told her. "This is all my fault. I should have taken you to that formal."

"But I had other duties that weekend," Quinn answered. She felt like she needed to make him feel comfortable even though she was the one who has been mad at him. "Sam…" She said his name for the first time that night and Sam felt heat rising up to his cheeks. Quinn seemed to notice and chuckled. _God I love her smile. I want to make her smile like that everyday._ He rubbed the back of his neck in embarrassment. "I thought we could start over completely, no lies and no secrets."

He looked at her lovingly. "I'd love that. We'll go by your pace in this whole thins" he told her, flashing him his signature smile reserved just for her as she nodded in agreement. Taking things not too fast and not too slow either would probably be a better way for them. "Come on, Britt's probably waiting for you."

"How do you know I live with Britt?" she inquired, not exactly creeped out because this is Sam we're talking about.

"After the bar fight, I kind of saw you and followed you home because I wanted to talk to you…" Sam honestly told her. No holds barred, just the way Quinn wanted and needed things to be between them. "It's kinda creepy I know, but I got to say to the cab driver, "Follow that car!" and that felt all kinds of awesome!" He said dorkily. It's like nothing happened and they're now comfortable again.

"You're such a dork," she smiled at his story and shuffled his hair. They got to her apartment minutes later.

"So, I'll see you tomorrow?" Sam asked nervously and Quinn seemed to notice him fidget. She put a hand on his shoulder, sensing that he needed her touch to ease him. Quinn slowly hugged Sam, her head fitting perfectly on the crook of Sam's neck. She can smell coffee on him and he can smell her coconut shampoo perfectly from his position. They stayed hugging for a while before Quinn pulled a little bit away.

"Yes," Quinn told him, her eyes once again mesmerizing Sam. "My shift ends at 8 tomorrow."

"Awesome. It's a date then," Sam said smiling, awestruck at how smoothly things were going. To be honest, he thought it'd be a total disaster. He thought Quinn would push him away even more or that she'd completely shut him out. "I'll be there early." Quinn nodded and punched in her new number in Sam's new phone, which she stealthily took from his pocket. Sam grinned at this, shaking his head in disbelief.

"Okay," she said, handing him his phone back. "See you." She kissed his cheek and walked into the apartment. Sam grinned like a fool and fist pumped the air, a smile plastered on his face all the way home.

It's been a pretty amazing night.

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><p>The next day, Sam went all the way planning a romantic night out for Quinn. He saved enough to get vegetarian dishes for Quinn. He wanted to prove to her that she's all he needs and that he's there to move forward with her. He rented one of his friend's places for the night that had an amazing view from the 11th floor. He made her vegetarian food from online recipes and tried them himself if it'd be good enough. He was excited how it all turned out. It was perfect and Sam thought that the old recession that hit them back then helped a lot in shaping him to be a flexible person. He had to work then while making food for his siblings and now, he had no problem cooking. However, just because he's making Quinn her food preference, doesn't mean he won't do his. He made himself some porterhouse steak just the way he loved them, sweet mashed potatoes and some mixed vegetables in butter. For Quinn, he specifically prepared her prepared for her some chili-lime grilled seitan and vegetarian lasagne. He also made some guacamole and tortilla chips, classic Caesar salad, fresh strawberry smoothies with blended soy ice cream and a decadent chocolate cake – which he bought because he cannot bake - for them to share. Sam had all made them at the apartment he rented and was just waiting to pick Quinn up. He cleaned up and dressed himself after slaving over the stove for the past six hours.<p>

He left all of the food in the oven so it'd still be warm when he got back from picking Quinn up. Sam borrowed Brittany's car – but not without telling her the surprise – to pick Quinn up. As Quinn was getting ready for her shift to end, she received a message from Sam that he's on his way and that he misses her. She smiled like a love struck reading his message and hoped time would go faster that moment.

By the time Sam came, Quinn was ready to leave. He entered the coffee shop looking like a boss. His hair all fixed because he was one of those guys that fussed about their hair, simple light blue polo with the sleeves folded until his elbows, some dark blue fitted jeans and a navy blue top-sider. He's dressed to be loved and he knows it. Sam took an empty sit to wait for Quinn. Moments later, she emerged from the backroom. She was stunned at how dressed up he is! She walks towards Sam who was grinning like an idiot, awestruck once more by how stunning she looked just wearing a simple flowery dress, jean jacket and some white flats.

"Oh my God," Quinn exclaimed just loud enough for Sam to hear as they walked out of the coffee shop. "I look like crap!" She hit him on the arm. Sam faked hurt and winced, and chuckled at Quinn. "You should've told me to dress up!"

"Hey," he took Quinn's hands. "You'd look beautiful even in a garbage bag," he laughed and Quinn smiled at him as they walked towards the car. "You don't have to dress up to impress me."

"I've impressed you already," she slyly replied, smiling at him. "I'd have to impress the people at whatever place we're going to."

"You hurt my feelings," Sam mocked, earning another playful hit form Quinn. Quinn noted that he borrowed Brittany's car and Sam explained to her how guys should have cars to get their date home. "What a gentleman," she said as Sam opened the door for her.

The drive back to the apartment was short. They arrived at the place shortly and like the true gentleman he is, he opened the door again for Quinn. She smiled at the gesture. It's the little things Sam does for her that drives her to the edge, that makes her want to pounce on him but they're taking things by her pace. They went up to the apartment and Quinn was at awe at how fancy the place was. They entered the mahogany-covered doorway and from that place alone, Quinn was presented with the beautiful view of the lights of New York. There was a huge glass functioning as a wall at one side of the apartment. It was covered with flesh colored carpets and the kitchen had a light brown floor wood. It looked even classier with the small lamps illuminating the place. There was an L-shaped couch on one side that faced a wall-hung LED TV and entertainment system. Facing the glass wall and the view was a mahogany red table with carefully set up dinnerware and a simple but big red rose beside one part that was obviously meant for her. The kitchen was fancy, there were silver appliances and glassware and cooking ware that she only imagined she'd have when she's filthy rich.

Taking this whole place in was a lot for Quinn. "W…Wow…" she managed to stutter.

"I know right? Said the same thing myself," Sam shared as she took her coat and bag to hang it on the rack beside the door that he just locked. "Come on," he said, gesturing towards the dinner table. He slid out her seat for her before heading to the kitchen to get food servings for them. He placed them one by one in front of Quinn before taking his own food to his plate. "I hope you like them."

"You made these?" She asked incredulously, serving herself and Sam some salad.

"Yeah… I mean… I'm not a vegetarian cook and all but I tried…" he said, as if trying to convey he wasn't sure of his cooking. "If not… Well there's always Chinese take out…" She took a fork of salad as Sam waited for her judgment.

"No need for that Chinese take out," Quinn approved, wondering why Sam didn't just go to culinary school with her. It was fantastic and very different from what she's been cooking. They ate all the incredible food Sam made, as Quinn put it. She was sincerely in awe but it was kind of expected. She had no idea how well Sam cooked but she knew how romantic Sam got. She was definitely hooked deeper than before. Quinn loved how thoughtful Sam was about this dinner and took into consideration her preferences. It was remarkable how far Sam would go for her and she remembered the time when they dated back in high school. How Sam did everything for her only for her to cheat on him. Quinn was unaware how much she's lost that year until Sam. She regretted everything and when she had the chance to fix everything, Sam screwed up. However, Santana seemed to be the savior of the both of them. It wasn't entirely Sam's fault and reflecting on it, in all totality, in their relationship, she still had the most mistakes. They talked the whole night, taking in the food with their time as Quinn praised him every now and then. The two fell back to their casual ways, talking like nothing's stopping them. They talked about school, family, how they ended up having this dinner at this place and just the small moments that happened to them when they weren't talking. It went extremely well.

Finally, it was time for them to go. Sam was going to go back clean up everything after she drops Quinn off but Quinn refused. They did the cleaning together, back and forth splashing water and just total fun. When they were both done, they headed down so Sam could drive Quinn back home and Britt's car back. Once in front of the apartment, they stood in front of each other.

Sam wrapped his arms around Quinn's face, looked at her eyes and said, "I had so much fun tonight. You made my entire day perfect." Quinn blushed and placed her arms around Sam's neck. Sam's smile was so wide and her pearly whites were perfectly showing and Quinn loved it.

"Thank you for that romantic dinner," she replied, running a hand through Sam's hair. "Everything was incredible."

"It's all for you," Sam cheesily replied. They looked at each other and Quinn bit her lip, hesitation in her hazel eyes. Sam sensing it, he slowly dipped down and pulled her in for a good kiss. Their lips met and Sam felt like her knees buckled but stood his ground. It was soft and sweet and obviously conveyed everything Sam wanted to tell her. She pulled away and touched their foreheads together as their eyes locked once more. Sam was wrong. It wasn't a good kiss. It was a prefect one. "Be my girlfriend?" He asked after a couple of moments.

Quinn smiled at the word. "Exclusively…? I know I said we'd go by your pace and all but-" Quinn cut Sam off with a chaste kiss.

"You're adorable when you ramble," she told him. "And it's not like I can hold out for long," she added in a whisper. Sam smiled and hugged her tighter. She went in and told Sam to inform him when he got home as he'd leave Brittany's car. It was a perfect night for both of them they're just getting started.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: I decided to end it here because truthfully, I don't how else I'd piece another angry!Quinn chapter. Hahaha : ) Anyway, no worries because I'm planning a sequel for this one. Thank you for reading this! Reviews? FABREVANS/OVERGRON FOR LIFE!**

**PS: If you notice an element/line missing here, let me know in your review. I purposely left it out for the sequel :)**


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